Assassin of Beacon Volume 3
by Crows-flight-path
Summary: The Vytal Festival Tournament has begun! The first rounds have been concluded and the excitement is still burning hot in the air, it seems that no matter how many times the festival is held the cheers only get louder and louder, after the devastating victory of team RWBY of Beacon over team ABRN, of Haven, it seems that everyone is hungry for more...
1. Kill the Grave

The wind blew through the autumn trees, Ruby walked calmly through the orange sea of dying grass and trees followed closely by Esdeath

"I figured the location would be closer." Esdeath commented as she looked around at the tall trees surrounding them

"Shes at her favorite spot on the island. Its away from just about everything else, the closest piece of civilization would be dads' house." Ruby explained as she hopped over a bush in a practiced motion

"I can understand the want to get away from the noise and light pollution of the cities." Esdeath agreed as she followed Rubys' path

"We're here." Ruby said as the trees began to thin out until they were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out off into the distance Esdeath could see the island end and the oceans beginning she could follow it all the way to the horizon, it was a beautiful sight but Ruby wasn't focusing on that she was focusing on the stone slab at their feet, looking down at it Esdeath read the engraving out loud

"Summer Rose, Thus Kindly I Scatter... Summer Rose... _Summer_ _Rose_..." Esdeath repeated over and over again, that name sounded extremely familiar, but she couldn't put a face to the name

"Hey, mom. Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been... well, things have been, pretty busy. I'm back to visit Dad! He's, uh, you know... Dad. He's still teaching at Signal. But he told me that he's going to be on some mission soon. I think he misses adventuring with you. I miss you too... Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet!.. So that's cool. I think being on a team with Yang helps. Keep her in line... That was a joke. She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad! Oh, so are Weiss and Blake... Oh! They're my teammates! Together, we form Team RWBY! And yes, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion. Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, and then I met some... let's just say, _odd _teachers. Oh! We've also stopped some bad guys, too! I guess it's like they say: "like mother, like daughter"! I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early. But uh, I guess he'll tell me one day. You know how he is. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he's starting to sound like Uncle Qrow." Ruby continued to talk to the grave, Esdeath listened to every word, it was quite painful to experience for her, Ruby wanted a mother so badly she was willing to accept this... this situation as it is so she can have something akin to a mother

"I even met Esdeath! Shes great, she came here too. I don't know where in the universe you are or if you even are out there helping people but I want you to know... we miss you." Ruby finished the then turned to the forest behind them "We should get going, it was good talking to you Mom." Ruby said and began back into the forest

"Summer Rose, your name is familiar to me, I don't remember from where or why but I will figure it out sooner or later. Rest well, warrior." Esdeath said then turned and followed after Ruby

**(o)**

Akame followed as Qrow guided her through groups of people the faint sound of cheering could be heard from all around, this had been the first time she had ever seen a tournament, given her time in night Raid and in the Elite Seven she didn't have much time for leisure, as they made their way past people she sensed someone approach her, freezing in place Akame looked over her shoulder and saw a woman wearing a suit, she had white hair that faded into a light purple and had narrow amber eyes, she was followed by a man with a large camera which obscured his features

"I'm Lisa Lavender, broadcasting live from Amity Colosseum; The Vytal Festival Tournament has called all manner of people from all over the world to see what the Huntsman and Huntresses of the future got, but here we have a self made prodigy; Akame Branwen, better known as 'The Record Breaker', made famous from her show of defeating Pyrrha Nikos in their combat class, the event of which was posted to social media soon after and the video had caught fire ever sense and has gotten over 5 million clicks in the last two weeks alone." the woman hastily explained, Akame raised an eyebrow at her clearly confused by what she was saying, and to who "Tell us Akame, how does it feel coming from a life of savagery to see the rest of the world." She wasn't actually asking, Akame could tell the difference and she didn't care, ignoring the woman she turned to continue to follow Qrow, but was again cut off by another person with a camera, turning again she found another, and another, and another, they were popping up like daisies. Akame finally got fed up with them, she sighed and let her killing intent burn off all around her, a visible purple mist began to flow off of her, that caused all of the questions to stop and the people to back away, the sound of hurried footsteps earned her attention, looking up from the ground she saw Qrow

"Kid, what the hell happened?" Qrow asked as he looked around at the people and let out a sigh "Really... why are all of you here? There are plenty of other kids for you to harass."

"Yes, but how many of them beat Pyrrha Nikos?" they were all shouting questions but that was the only question that was heard before they started shouting

"OKAY!" Qrow shouted earning all their attention "Leeches, listen! Leave. Her. Alone. No one _wants_ you lot here, no one _needs_ your lot here. All you're doing is being a nuisance to one of the only people in this place worth their weight." Qrow called to them all, a lot left after that grumbling about coming back when he's gone, but Lisa persisted "And who might you be?"

"Her father." Qrow answered staring her dead in the eyes, she was clearly scared of him but she pressed on

"Oh, so are you one of the other Branwen's that came to and I quote 'slaughter the competition?'." Lisa questioned and Qrow sighed

"That was Ravens' thing, I didn't care either way." Qrow waved off and turned to leave

"It must have been disappointing to be sent to the finals only to get eliminated when you were so close to winning." Lisa antagonized, remembering the last time he was on camera, her 'question' caused Qrow to stop

"Do you even know what happened to Uther after the tournament?" Qrow asked before she could answer he spoke "We kept in touch for years after the tournament, he was killed by a stamped of Goliath. I learned that it doesn't matter who wins the tournament it matters what you learn, so ask yourself what did you learn from this?" Qrow finished they he and Akame continued to walk towards the stands, leaving Lisa behind to deal with that knowledge.

**(o)**

It had been almost two hours and Akame still couldn't quite get used to the sounds of shouting, the number of people gathered to watch people fight was staggering, thousands of people were filling the stands and more were watching from their homes, as Qrow explained, looking behind her so many people were cheering on for the current fight, which was team CFVY verses team MWBS(Mutabilis) from Haven, in Akames' opinion it was a wash, she knew CFVY would have no trouble taking MWBS down, they were uncoordinated and inexperienced so CFVY pulled them apart with ease, the past four fights had no excitement to them due to Akame easily predicting the outcome

"I think you get why most huntsmen don't watch this thing." Qrow commented, turning to her he wasn't watching the fight at all he was on his scroll reading something off of it

"Yatsu then hits Mark, sending him here." Qrow said pointing in front of them just as the leader of MWBS hit the hard-light barrier, Qrow didn't even flinch like everyone around them "And that's a knock out due to ring out." Qrow continued, Port announced his same statement "Then the rest of MWBS is sent into panic mode, making them easy to defeat for CFVY to take the easy win." Qrow finished as he turned back to the fight and watched what he predicted happen

"I guess when you get right down to it, experienced fighters don't enjoy watching tournaments because the fighters are predictable." Akame deduced earning a nod from Qrow

"Yeah, but it has its novelties." Qrow commented as he held out a bag of popcorn to her, taking it she grabbed a piece, sniffed it, then tossed it in her mouth, Qrow held out the second bag of popcorn he brought just in case this happened, Akame scarfed down the first bag quickly grabbed the second bag and did the same

"That was so good! Where'd you get it?!" Akame questioned quickly her appetite not conquered in the slightest

"The convenient stand near the entrance, but be careful cause this stuff is really bad for you, and it'll make you real sick real fast." Qrow answered as Akame slowly began to stand

"Now before you go eating out the entire stadium of food, remember the flight here, and what the flight back will be like." Qrow said and Akame slowly sat back down

"After RWBYs' match this became very bland, do you know when the next airship will be leaving here?" Akame asked as she watched as CFVY walked off the stage

"We got a good hour, so hows 'bout we pass the time by talking with the Beacon teams?" Qrow asked as he stood, Akame followed and they walked to the Beacon waiting room was

"Personally I don't know many of the other combatants from our school apart from RWBY and JNPR." Akame said as they made their way towards the door

"Well we can get the general consensus when we walk in there." Qrow waved off as he reached the door and quickly pulled it open and walked in, they were both hit with a wave of distrust and fear

"What did you do to them kid?" Qrow ask sarcastically as he backed into the room quickly followed by Akame

"I've only interacted with most of them in combat class." Akame answered ignoring their whispers, Qrow on the other hand was listening closely, the words 'wanted', 'criminal', and 'murderer' kept popping up

"Figured it out." Qrow said earning Akames attention "Their still hung up on Esdeath putting you down as wanted, personally I think their scared for no reason. You wouldn't hurt a fly." Qrow snarked as he and Akame walked past groups of Beacon students nursing their wounds or talking about their next matches

"I doubt many here would agree with you." Akame commented looking at the groups some of which were glaring at her

"I wouldn't even agree with me, I know how hard you can hit." Qrow agreed with her as they reached the area designated for team RWBY which was occupied by Weiss, Blake, and Yang

"Hey you three." Qrow greeted earning a happy cheer from Weiss and Yang and a smile from Blake

"Akame what did you think of our first match?" Weiss asked excitedly, Akame looked at her then Qrow then back to her again

"You did fine, you've gotten very good at canceling out your emotions and fighting without restraint or 'honor' but you still had a few holes as you fought, luckily for you though Ruby was able to cover your failings." Akame said neutrally

"Yeah, I saw that too. Shes' gotten far more aggressive on the battlefield, and is starting to out class you three, work harder." Qrow added as he crossed his arms

"It should be expected she has spent most of her time with Esdeath, she has plenty of experience training people." Akame explained as they sat down with the rest of WBY

"HEY! GUYS!" Noras' voice came as she dashed over to them

"Hello Nora." Akame greeted as the girl quickly moved around each member of WBY praising their victory

"Hey guys." Jaune greeted as they walked up to join Nora "You guys were amazing out there, especially you Weiss." Jaune added, Weiss ignored him Pyrrha deflated a bit

"Trust me kid, if her sister is anything to go by shes into guys like me." Qrow commented causing Weiss to blush and turn to him

"How dare yo-" Weiss began but was stopped by Qrow speaking much louder then her

"Look if you wanna yell at someone yell at your sister. Shes the one who came begging to me." Weiss quickly looked around at the other groups around them, Qrow grinned at her then spoke again his voice dripping with sarcasm "Oh no, it looks like your stuck by societal convention, how bad for you."

"Fine. You win." Weiss surrendered, Qrow stared at her for a few moments then spoke again

"She has some nice tits though." Qrow added earning a growl from Weiss causing Qrow to chuckle and a raised eyebrow from Akame

"What about Leone?" Akame asked neutrally Qrows laughter stopped almost immediately at that

"I didn't say Winters' were perfect, Leone is on a level all of her own." Qrow clarified clearly he was very distraught, Akame nodded in agreement then the two stood in awkward silently for the first time in a while

"So... who wants to go... get... lunch?" Yang awkwardly offered earning their attention, and a sigh of relief from both

"Yeah, lets do that." Qrow agreed neutrally then shook his head and gestured for them to follow him as he drew his flask and drank rather heavily from it

"Who's Leone?" Pyrrha asked Yang as they all started to follow Qrow and Akame, at the mention of her name Qrow seemed to slouch more

"Leone is Qrows'... former? girlfriend, and Akames' former best friend. We never met her though." Yang answered quietly, watching Qrow as she did he didn't seem to notice her talking

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked, Yang shrugged and shook her head

"If you want to know you should ask Akame when shes away from Qrow. He's still hurting from what happened, I didn't even ask for his take." Yang explained earning a nod from Pyrrha

**(o)**

Ruby and Esdeath were currently sitting in Tais' living room, Esdeath and Tai had finally met for the first time and it had started off as arguing quite heatedly at that, but slowly their conversation found common ground and they stopped yelling at each other and started agreeing, finally choosing to listen to the conversation Ruby was surprised by it

"That's precisely why I hated dealing with Ozpin!" Tai agreed, maybe she should have been paying more attention, apparently they held the same belief when it comes to talking with Ozpin

"Um... so we should be getting back..." Ruby finally said earning both of their attention

"Yes, while I've been enjoying this conversation we should be leaving, Ruby has had quite the day today." Esdeath agreed nodding to Ruby who stood

"I saw, you guys wiped the floor with those guys, Qrow could tell you all about how exhausting our tournament." Tai said with a shiver

"Was it really that hard?" Ruby asked earning a scoff from Tai

"No, but it was because of our team, Qrow and Raven had no restraint." Tai said a distant look in his eyes as he spoke, Ruby watched at Esdeath perked up when Qrow and Raven were mentioned and more so when he said they had no restraint

"That's rather fascinating now that I think on it. You wouldn't happen to know where I might find any recordings of your matches?" Esdeath questioned eagerly

"I don't know, the only people who could tell you that would be; Ozpin, Ironwood, Qrow, or Glynda. I say her because shes far more organized then Ozpin, and I say Ironwood because our first Vytal festival was in Atlas." Tai answered calmly "But I wouldn't look into it if I were you."

"If you were me than you would know better then to warn me." Esdeath shot coldly as she walked to the door quickly followed by Ruby

"Ouch. I can see where that eis comes from." Tai said, earning a groan from Ruby who pulled open the door and pushed Esdeath out

"Bye dad!" Ruby quickly and happily said then slammed the door behind her, with a sigh Tai stood and walked into the kitchen set on cleaning it again

**(o)**

Entering the Manta Esdeath and Ruby sat down and waited for the pilot to take off in silence

"So... what'd you think of dad?" Ruby asked looking over to Esdeath who looked deep in thought

"He was... kind. But I'm more preoccupied with your mother. She seems familiar, her name at least." Esdeath answered "I'll talk with Qrow about it when I next see him. But enough talk about that." Esdeath waved off as she grabbed Rubys head and pulled her into her chest which was met with no resistance "Lets just enjoy our time alone together." Ruby attempted to speak but only managed to get a few muffled sounds out and causing Esdeath to giggle a bit which as far as she was concerned was a reward itself

"But I will ask one thing Ruby; do you really feel that you can grow to love me again?" Esdeath asked calmly, but it was clear to Ruby that she was asking this tired question again because she was scared that Rubys' answer would change, pulling her head from Esdeaths' chest Ruby grabbed Esdeath by the collar and in a practiced motion slammed her head into Esdeaths' with a loud crack causing both of them to fall away from each other and hold their heads

"Asking again wont change my answer! Esdeath I cant even get you out of my head anymore! For better or for worse, you're stuck with me. And... and that's a good thing. I have a hard time thinking of how to say it though, this helped... I'll try and find something that helps that isn't cracking our heads." Ruby explained as blood began to roll down her forehead, Esdeath stood and rubbed her own head "That's not what I was expecting." she commented as she grabbed Ruby again and pushed up her bangs and looked at the trail of blood "But it seems you weren't paying as much attention when I told you how to do that. You're suppose to aim for the bridge of the nose." Esdeath lectured

"I know what I was suppose to do." Ruby quickly said "I just- EEP!" Ruby began but was cut off by ice touching her forehead, back when she had Demons' Extract in her she couldn't feel cold at all, looking up at Esdeath she saw the woman blushing profusely... for some reason

"You are so beautiful Ruby." Esdeath said as she retracted the bloody ice from her forehead, Ruby became very flustered at that, she got better at taking complements but whenever Esdeath gave her one she basically melted. That woman hands out so few complements that they were as good as gold

**(o)**

Qrow spun as he down another beer, it wasn't the favorite way to get drunk but it was a quick one and currently the most plentiful

"'Kame-, A-kame, I ever tell you... tell you... wasn't ganged?" Qrow questioned as he swayed a bit but was quickly supported by Akame who calmly leaned him to a more stable position

"You have to speak clearly." Akame said as she was slightly put off balance by Qrow still swaying

"Am sp'king clearly! You... you're great!" Qrow commented as he leaned back and fell nearly slamming into the ground but was caught by Akame who lowered him to the ground

"I think he's had enough." Pyrrha commented with a concerned look on her face

"How much did he have to drink?" Jaune questioned looking at the bartender

"almost a whole keg." the bartender answered earning shocked looks from everyone but Akame, she just picked up Qrow and sat him on one of the bar stools

"It seems he still doesn't want to think about Leone." Akame said looking over Qrow sadly "I suppose he has a hard time letting go." she commented looking sad herself

"Qrow was never one for teams, due to his semblance he constantly pushed everyone around him away, so when he likes someone he has a very hard time letting go." Yang explained as Akame pat him on the back

"So... now that he's out would this be a good time to ask?" Pyrrha asked Yang who shrugged

after the bartender left to get a new keg Akame spoke "Leone was shot many times in the gut, with no Aura to protect her she began to bleed out quickly but beat the man responsible for the Empire we lived in to death. That was one of her favorite way to get rid of targets third only to breaking their necks which is second to strangulation." everyone looked horrified or disgusted

"What the hell is wrong with Qrow?" Yang asked looking at her uncle

"You're misconstruing bloodlust on the battlefield for bloodlust off of it. She may act brutal on the battlefield, but off it she acts like you... with less angst." Akame commented as she prevented Qrow from leaning back as he chuckle a bit then slammed his head back down on the bar, she looked at him sadly again

"I want him to move on soon, or at the very least let go." Akame said as she leaned over on him "But I suspect that hes still holding out hope that Leone will do what Esdeath did, but I don't think he wants to ask her just in case its impossible." Akame explained as she ran her hand through Qrows hair, as she did that he seemed to stop functioning entirely he was just lying completely still unlike a few seconds ago

"That's sad." Weiss commented carefully "I suppose I might have misjudged him... a lot."

"What did the General do?" Jaune asked earning all their attention

"I completely forgot you guys were here." Yang quickly said turning to the other team next to them "Sorry about that."

"That didn't answer the question." Jaune redirected still confused by her statement

"You should leave." Akame said earning the eyes of JNPR "You were called for a match two minutes ago." Akame explained causing all of them to share looks before bolting off, Akame heard Qrow mutter something along the lines of 'shes gonna use a hammer.', she couldn't figure out what he meant by that but she felt it held some form of relevance to JNPR, after they vanished she looked back to WBY and spoke again "We should get to the airships, they should be loading up now." after finishing her statement she pulled Qrow to his feet and helped him along quickly followed by WBY

**(o)**

Ruby and Esdeath walked off the Manta and looked around Amity something caught Rubys' eyes and she dashed off, Esdeath quickly turned and watched as she joined her team and Akame who was carrying a very drunk Qrow, Sighing Esdeath walked over and joined them

"Hello Akame, Blake, Weiss, bootlicker." Esdeath greeted causing Yang to growl at her which was ignored

"Esdeath." Akame said neutrally as Qrow leaned back looked at Esdeath and spat in her general direction before drooping forward causing Akame to stumble

"I could help with that if you want." Esdeath offered as she pointed at Qrow

"We were just heading to the airship to get him back to Beacon." Akame explained neutrally as she studied Esdeath suspiciously

"Yes, they don't leave for another thirty minutes. Mine is over there and leaves when I say so." Esdeath explained gesturing to her Manta "All I want in return is being able to carry Qrow."

Akame was torn, yes they could get there quicker but she was happy to carry Qrow when she needed to and she really didn't want to give him over to Esdeath

"Aw come on Akame! Its really fun, and you cant get motion sick if the pilots are as good as they are, we had no turbulence on the way up here." Ruby explained causing Akame to sigh

"Fine, but if you do anything weird to him your life will be the price." Akame threatened earning a nod from Esdeath as she took Qrow off Akame and they began towards the Manta

"I believe this will be your first time in my, new, manta correct?" Esdeath asked as they walked

"Yes." Akame answered calmly

"Try not to kill the pilots this time." Esdeath commented as she shifted Qrow into a more comfortable position

"I did what was asked of me, they wanted the Manta grounded, I grounded it." Akame said unfazed by Esdeaths' statement, as they reached the ship said pilots looked very concerned by Akames' presence, taking their seats they felted the ship shift a bit, and begin to move, Akame placed her hand on Qrows' chest preventing him from falling forward

"I think 'm gonna be sick." Qrow commented Esdeath stood and walked to the front of the ship then came back with a plastic bag and held it out to him, he took it but didn't seem to notice her

"Esdeath, I wanted to ask you something." Akame finally said after a few moments of quiet

"What would you like to know?" Esdeath answered as she turned her full attention to Akame

"How did you get here. I know you died, I made sure to see your body before returning to father. You were... destroyed to say the least."

"All my ribs were broken, Raven cut off my arm, Qrow stabbed me through the heart, Najenda broke my jaw, and I was covered from head to toe in deep cuts." Esdeath clarified then continued to speak "To be honest, Qrow did most of that damage, after Raven joined I knew they would either join me or I would die, so I tried to recruit them, as you can see it didn't work."

"But how are you here? Because I know for a fact Qrow wants to know, just in case Leone does the same thing." Akame explained a strange sound in her voice

"Its rare, I barely passed the trials set before me. So many powers offered me a hand, so many forces of 'good' and 'evil' attempted to win my favor, I was one of two who passed from secondary worlds without giving into one of those powers." Esdeath explained vaguely "So its very much possible that you could see her again, but I doubt she'll make any attempt to return to life, there are many forces pushing someone to stay, the moment you close your eyes to sleep your every wish comes true. Personally I got a bloody battlefield where me and my love killed all our foes and... then we did other things." Esdeath explained slowly growing red as she stared at Ruby who began to blush too

"So... you... had a wet dream every night?" Yang asked after a few moments of awkward silence

"No, I saw many different people as my love, at first it was Tatsumi but after awhile it became a shadow, showing that my love had yet to be decided once more. That and I don't know what a wet dream is." Esdeath waved off as she rapped her arm around Ruby shoulder and smiled at Yang who growled at her

"Well before Yang makes a fool of herself... again, does that mean that anyone can come back to life?" Weiss said earning a glare from Yang

"Yes, it does. So long as someone has both the strength of will and pure strength to free themselves. But there is one rule that can not be broke; you can never return to your home world, should you do that it will end in the contract ending your life, completely, there will be no afterlife should you break that rule." Esdeath explained Akame nodded as she spoke

**(o)**

after the airship landed Esdeath and Qrow were the first to exit, Qrow stumbled down the ramp as Esdeath struggled to keep him and herself standing, they were followed by Akame who's concern was directed at Qrow more so than Esdeath

"I'm getting really tired of this Qrow." Esdeath growled "You should lay off the alcohol its not good for you."

"'S not, not that bad." Qrow slurred as he and Esdeath sloppily made their way

"I have a feeling you're doing this on purpose." Esdeath growled again

"Your's felt are right." Qrow slurred again before lurching forward and freezing in place "Yep..." Qrow said then vomited all over the ground in front of them before falling limp

"Father?" Akame asked as she walked up to them

"I don't think he's awake anymore." Esdeath commented as she picked him up

"Why did you want to help him?" Akame finally asked

"I was hoping he would touch me so I could punch him, sadly though all he did was vomit on my boots... now that I think about it..." Esdeath spoke as an idea slowly formed in her head

"What?" Akame asked tilting her head, Esdeath let go of Qrow nearly dropping in his own vomit but he was saved by Akame catching him

"Dammit." Esdeath huffed in anger "Someone gonna clean these and if I don't get to drop him in it, someones getting hurt." Akame stood after moving Qrow somewhere safe then drew Murasame

"Umm... guys?" Ruby asked looking between the two as Esdeath drew her blade and crossed it with Murasame, looking around Ruby saw a crowd quickly forming "You're causing a scene..." Ruby tried to dissuade them again

"Step back Ruby, we have roughly three minutes before Ozpin is informed of this situation and intervenes." Esdeath said her eyes locked onto Akame

"I will defeat you, this time without interruption." Akame calmly said her eyes narrowing, Ruby groaned and moved away from them, this has happened almost everyday, Akame and Esdeath cant seem to get along, usually its just glares and angry words, sometimes things get out of hand and... well... this.

Akame stabbed Murasame into the ground and took off her coat, then grabbed it again and dropped into a more aggressive position as Esdeath took a small step back and pointed her blade at Akame after a few seconds of standing like that both lurched towards their opponent...

**A/N The first chapter is a cliff hanger, I'm sorry. I felt I didn't have enough of what was going on when I'm not telling the story so that's what this was, it fleshed out a few more things that were desperately needed. I also completely forgot that the JNR existed of JNPR so their gonna be a little more involved, but their not gonna get a whole chapter to themselves, kinda like what I did with the Jaegers.**

**I should also mention I didn't change Rubys conversation with Summers grave in the beginning because I don't think I could have done it a justice and I think the scene itself was beautiful.**


	2. Kill the Secret

**A/N I am very happy with how Volume 7 has gone it was a huge step in the right direction, and I am glad that it occurred.**

The sounds of steel hitting steel could be heard all across Beacons' courtyard same with the cheering that followed it, Akame was quickly dashing around Esdeath feigning strike after strike, Esdeath was visibly growing frustrated that Akame was easily avoiding all damage she attempted to inflict on her, each time Akame appeared she was already gone or she defected her strike, she had grown significantly stronger since she and Esdeath last fought. Esdeath finally hit her limit when Akame disappear for the eighth time, with a growl of frustration she began swinging wildly around herself until she caught Akame attempting to sneak into her defenses, barely blocking the strike Akame was sent rolling away from her, quickly rising to her feet she locked blades with Esdeath the contest of speed then became a contest of strength, she was nowhere near as strong as Esdeath and it showed to everyone as her arms shook violently, she barely held off Esdeaths' strike with both hands, but Esdeath was pressuring her with only one hand

"You may have speed but, when it comes down to where it matters, I will always be stronger than you." Esdeath commented as she forced Akames' guard down and slammed her fist into Akames' cheek sending her flying, Akame slid to a stop inverted her grip on Murasame and swung, Esdeath dived over the strike landed behind Akame and kicked her leg back this time Akame blocked the strike but was still sent flying, with a pant Akame stood and held Murasame to her throat her instincts screaming at her to do it but she shook her head of those thoughts and dived to the side of a strike and swung at Esdeaths' throat who quickly noted that she overextended herself and did the only logical thing she could think of

"**Mahapadma!"**

Akame rolled wildly as a sudden force pushed her away from her mark, slamming into something which slowed her to a stop, looking over her shoulder she saw Qrow

"You alright?" Qrow asked helping her to her feet

"I'm fine, but I wasn't expecting that." Akame answered as they stood Qrow then turned his attention to Esdeath

"You know Esdeath, you seem to be far too willing to use that on my kid. Plus you pulled me from a drunken stupor so..." Qrow said as he drew Harbinger and transformed it into its scythe

"Shes the one who aimed for my throat." Esdeath reasoned calmly shifting the blame to Akame

"Yeah?" Qrow asked looking to Akame who nodded "Then shes doin' a good job." Qrow snarked as he began to walk around Esdeath, Akame followed his lead in the opposite direction

"Are you sure it'll only take two of you?" Esdeath asked confidently as her gaze jumped from one to the other as they got to opposite sides of her

"Well we're not trying to kill you." Qrow commented "So I'm sure we'll be fine, you just gotta take your lumps." as he finished he rushed forward just at Akame did the same, Esdeath turned to Akame and Qrow dodged a slash from a white Beowolf and cut it down quickly, turning around he saw Winter who rushed him trying to stab him, transforming Harbinger back to a blade as he spun and kicked her blade then slashed at her legs causing her to jump back both lurched forward and locked blades

"I didn't think you two would be causing trouble during the tournament, it seems I should expect less of you." Winter growled as she shook trying to match Qrows' strength

"And I'd expect that you wouldn't be dumb enough to work with her, I guess we both gotta deal with disappointment, huh?" Qrow snarked as he applied more pressure causing her to stumble back a bit just enough for Qrow to kick her in the gut sending her into the crowd causing the people to spread out

"Akame!" Qrow called looking over to Akame, who was struggling to keep the pressure off of herself, Akame jumped above Esdeaths' next strike placed her feet on the blade and kicked off rolling up next to Qrow and sending Esdeath off balance

"You're stronger than me." Akame commented to Qrow as she turned to Winter and Qrow turned to Esdeath

"Ugh, I hate fighting you." Esdeath groaned then pointed her blade at Qrow "Winter don't hold back."

"Yes General." Winter agreed as she rushed towards Qrow only for Akame to knocked her strike off course and kicked her in the gut, as winter stumbled back she raised her blade and blocked a strike from Akame which forced her to drop to one knee, her arms shaking heavily

"How are you weaker than Qrow?" Winter asked through gritted teeth

"He's been holding back with you." Akame answered neutrally causing Winter to growl in anger and embarrassment

Qrow rolled back dodging strike after strike, finally he stopped dodging and stabbed forward both blocking a strike from Esdeath and landing one of his own, even if it was just a scratch, both jumped back a bit and swung at each other locking blades again, neither one giving up any ground to the other, the ground around them on the other hand shattered and cracked causing both Winter and Akame to fall under then sudden shift of terrain, Both Esdeath and Qrow nearly vanished from sight both leapt from ground to lamppost to the decorative archways around the courtyard, each movement causing the ground they landed on to break farther with each landed strike between the two. Akame rose to her feet and swung at Winter just as her regained her guard blocking the strike Winter kicked out at Akame who blocked it and jumped back, landing on a glyph which sent her into the air, Akame looked down she watched at Qrow and Esdeath landed back in the middle of the courtyard again and were greeted by cheers of the crowd, her eyes then turned to Winter and she threw Murasame at her before she could attack Qrow

"Qrow!" Akame called, spinning he blocked a strike from Esdeath and kicked her away just as Winter deflected Murasame which flashed red and bounced off her blade and flew to Qrow who caught it after throwing Harbinger to Akame, he then swung it at Esdeath as she rushed him, raised her blade to block it passed right through and caught her in the throat sending her to the ground and shattered her Aura just as Akame caught Harbinger and fired behind her shooting her towards Winter who blocked the strike but the large blade passed through her guard and slammed into her with full force sending her to the ground which exploded on her impact then her Aura shattered

"Good moves kid." Qrow complemented as he held Murasame out to her, she took it and held Harbinger out to him

"I need some way to move in the air without using Harbinger. Its not mine and I cant rely on it." Akame said earning a nod from Qrow as he took Harbinger back

"Yeah I saw that, for some people they got semblances for that, we could get you gauntlets that have fire dust in them, its cheaper than gravity but has bad mobility in comparison, unless you'd want me to talk to Jimmy about getting Due Process, he has like ten sets of them so he can bare the loss of one."

"General... or Reichsmarschall!" Winters' tired voice came from her prone form

"You just got your asses kicked and you're trying to arguing semantics, you specialists really _are_ special." Qrow snarked as he walked up to her

"Technically both Akame and Ruby are also specialists." Winter pointed out as he pulled her to her feet

"Yeah? Both are almost half your age, why do they both out rank you? And in less then two months." Qrow snarked again earning a growl from Winter as he walked over to Esdeath who was getting help from Ruby

"You guys were awesome!" Ruby cheered when she looked at Qrow "I didn't even know you could actually use Murasame! And then you used Akames' semblance! How'd you do that!? Is that your-" Ruby began to question but Qrow placed his hand over her mouth

"One at a time kid. I didn't know I could use it either, it was really spur of the moment, next Akame and I learned that she could use her semblance on any weapon with her Aura in it, so that's what she did we've been trying to find a situation where she would actually have to use it, so this was a good opportunity, and finally no that's not my semblance." Qrow listed off, the final answered caused Ruby to groan in frustration and she ran off to Akame and Winter who were getting told off by Weiss

"Why haven't you told her?" Esdeath asked as she stood

"'Cause there's no reason yet, I just want her to enjoy spending time around me without having to worry a while longer." Qrow answered earning a nod from Esdeath

"I suppose I can understand that, as long as you plan to tell her." Esdeath agreed as they watched Ruby and Weiss tell off Akame and Winter

"Trust me, its not gonna take poison to get me to tell the truth... probably." Qrow snarked, Esdeath rolled her eyes at that

"Where did she get that anyways?" Esdeath finally asked earning a shrug from Qrow

"I stopped asking questions when I got out of the empire." Qrow commented as Esdeath sheathed her blade

"Ruby, Qrow, Akame, Esdeath. Ozpins' office. Now." Glyndas cold voice came, that caused Qrow, Esdeath, and Ruby to groan "Everyone else, go back to your business."

**(o)**

Entering the office they all saw Ozpin looking very angry, Glynda walked up to Ozpins' desk and sat down on the corner of it with a pained sigh

"The Vytal festival is a time of peace and unity, a time for the four kingdoms to come together and compete... so would someone care to tell me why a General, Specialist, and C_olonel_ of the Atlas military were locked in combat?!" Ozpin questioned clearly peeved by their actions no one answered but they all shared looks

"I was also fighting." Qrow added earning a groan from Ozpin, after a few moments he sighed and leaned back in his seat

"I needed to talk to you all anyways, so this works out." Ozpin finally said his tone changed from an angry teacher to a tired man in a split second "I got some info from ; Apparently our enemies have already infiltrated Beacon." Ozpin explained as he watched everyone's reactions, Qrow, Esdeath, and Akame didn't react, Ruby on the other hand looked shocked, Qrow nodded after a few seconds for some reason that sounded familiar but he couldn't quite remember why

"What are we going to do?" Ruby finally asked looking to the adults for an answer

"Qrow you ran into them didn't you? When you saved the fall maiden?" Ozpin asked after a few moments of silence

"Yeah, but I haven't recognized anyone who looks like them 'round here." Qrow answered as he began to pace around the room

"Are you certain, because if you have any suspicion I need to know. Any suspicion at all." Ozpin pressured he looked far more tired than normal as he spoke

"I got nothing Oz. Well, nothing worth suspicion, they might have someone with a disguising semblance with them." Qrow answered, again Ozpin looked tired

"If they have already infiltrated we need to find a way to appeal to their wants. Why would they be here?" Esdeath asked, she clearly knew the answer but she wanted someone else to answer, her eyes were specifically on Ruby

"They want... whats left of the fall maidens powers right?" Ruby answered slowly earning a nod from Esdeath

"So I say we let them take it, then rip them to shreds." Esdeath explained earning a shocked look from both Ozpin and Glynda

"You cant be serious, if we do that then there's no telling what could happen." Ozpin waved off quickly "We must keep this secret."

"And what do you plan to do went they attack Beacon?" Esdeath asked as she began to pace perpendicular to Qrow

"They wouldn't be so bold as to attack the school, they were built specifically to ensure the relics safety." Ozpin waved off "At most they would cause a distraction to draw our attention from the school, such as attacking Amity or Vale, that's why we're here. To ensure that we stay at Beacon while the students deal with whatever is to come."

"Your plan is to let our cannon fodder to deal with their cannon fodder, that may work but tell me, who has more bodies to throw into the meat grinder?" Esdeath asked as she watched Ozpin closely

"We cant rely on the student body to just act as bodies to throw away, they have their own survival instincts unlike the Grimm." Ruby said as she joined Qrow and Esdeath as they paced

"Professor what powers do the maidens specifically have?" Ruby asked after a few moments of pacing

"It depends on both the maiden they are and the power they prefer, they have access to all the elements but most prefer to stick to one, why do you ask?" Ozpin explained

"I summoned ice blades during Esdeaths' class, I even summoned shards. So its not impossible to assume that they think I'm also a maiden, right?" Ruby offered earning looks of realization from Esdeath and Qrow

"But now that you don't-" Esdeath began but Ruby cut her off

"That's why I need you to give me Demon's Extract again." Ruby said "I'm scared of what might happen but I pacified it once I can do it again." Ruby said confidently

"That's a one time thing when you took my semblance, but if you take my blood, it will never go away. The constant screaming to end all life around you, and the endless bloodlust never goes away, so I recommend taking my soul instead of blood, though I doubt your soul would remain as you if you did." Esdeath explained happily earning a growl from both Akame and Qrow

"Why do you have to make everything nice you try and say sound evil?" Qrow asked glaring at her

"Because its who I am, James may have a leash but I'll be taking it off soon." Esdeath shot back

"What? Are you finally getting a trial for you actions?"

"I have nothing to pay for."

"Willful killing, torture, wanton destruction, taking hostages, rape, attacking civilians-"

"Oh, if were pointing out crimes now you two were enemies to the state-"

"Can you really blame us? It was a state of MURDER AND GREED-"

"A PLACE WHERE MY AMBITION COULD FLOURISH-"

"YOUR STUPID DREAM OF-"

"ENOUGH!" Rubys' voice cut both out of their shouting match "By the gods you two are starting to get annoying, Uncle Qrow not to be rude but you have no moral high ground you were an assassin, and Esdeath you cant argue the truth." Ruby said causing both of them to quite down after a few moments they shared a look

"I hate you." they both said glaring at each other then fell silent

"Thank you Ruby." Ozpin thanked as he leaned back in his seat "Can we get back to the matter of hand?"

"I agree." Ruby said looking to Qrow and Esdeath who were still glaring at each other

"Now then, lets get everything straight. I feel that Neopolitan has left out some vital information, and Ruby wants to pose as a maiden to draw out said enemy correct?" Ozpin explained, everyone voiced their understanding

"Why would she lie?" Ruby asked looking between Akame and Ozpin "You and Akame are trying to help her."

"Its common for a person to try and hide all the information they have from people who are holding someone they love hostage." Qrow explained as he went back to pacing

"Its more common for assassins and thieves to hide names of clients or business partners. It makes dealing with someone like Neo or me safer." Akame clarified as she walked up to Ozpins' desk earning his attention "We need to put our trust in her and she will do the same."

"Esdeath where is Roman being held?" Ozpin asked as he rubbed his eyes

"He's currently on my airship, why?" Esdeath answered as she began to pace again

"Do you think you could let Neo visit him?" Ozpin asked as he adjusted his glasses

"She was never ban from visiting him, all she has to do is ask." Esdeath answered earning a groan from everyone present causing Esdeath to tilt her head in confusion

"You have to say these things! Or everyone will just assume that you'll act like every other Atlas general!" Ruby explained after she finished groaning, Esdeath still looked very confused

**(o)**

"What do you mean!?" Cinder growled struggling to keep her voice down

"I mean exactly what I said; The operation is a failure, I don't know what happened but this tomb just got larger." Adams voice came from the other end of the call

"But who could have killed them all? There were hundreds of white fang in those tunnels!" Cinder questioned again

"I don't know but there's a lot of water and blood." Adam finished, a loud shot was heard after "Dammit-" was all he said before the signal cut

Cinders' eye twitched, she then crushed the scroll in her hand and threw it away

"Whats wrong ma'am?" Emerald asked carefully stepping closer to her, Cinder growled and slowed her breathing

"We _need_ to get rid of Ruby Rose, she has begun to make a mess of our plans." Cinder growled her eyes began to burn "It will be a good step in the right direction... when we leave this place in ashes, I'll have the power of two maidens." Cinder confidently said

"But if we take her out then doesn't that mean-" Emerald began to question

"We'll kill her during all the chaos. It wont matter then." Cinder cut off causeing Emerald to fall silent and listen "Now; where's Neo?"

"I think shes somewhere on campus." Emerald answered looking at Cinders' feet

"Truly useful." Cinder growled then ordered coldly "go, find her."

**(o)**

Akame sat with Ruby, she had sent a message to Neo telling her to come and see them but it appears shes running more than a little late

"So have you made your choice? Either way you're losing a part of yourself." Akame asked looking over to Ruby who was sitting on the ground seeming to be absorbed in though

"I... what would you do?" Ruby asked looking to Akame

"I don't know, we are shaped by the events that occur in our lives, but everyone is scared of something, I'm assuming you're scared of losing yourself." Akame answered leaving Ruby no better "I cant choose this for you, especially if you choose the blood, that would make you one of four Teigu users on the planet... if you count Qrow."

"What does it feel like? Having a Teigu?" Ruby questioned after a few quite seconds

"you have to understand its a tool, but it has a comforting trait to it." Akame answered as she drew Murasame and held it out to Ruby, they were both confident that Ruby could wield it given their introduction, she looked at it for a few seconds then grabbed the hilt, as soon as her fingers closed around the hilt she felt comfortable and some what relaxed it was like she was holding Crescent Rose but amplified, after a few moments of sitting like that Ruby released the hilt and let Akame return the blade to its sheath

"Woah..." Ruby said as she stared at her hand which had strange tingling feeling in it "Does that happen every time?"

"Yes even in combat, its very hard to pressure a Teigu user to true rage or emotion." Akame answered as she stood and continued to speak "Its a double edged sword though, you may be calm at almost all times, but that also can prevent you from fighting emotionally, which could be a boost that you really need." Ruby didn't respond at all she just looked deep in though

"Then why was I so angry?" Ruby asked looking at her hands

"Because Esdeath cant distinguish between anger and every other emotion, much like how I don't let my emotions show much because I don't know how to express them, she never felt them, so I assume your mind compensated for the unknown factors of emotion in your heart with something equally unknown, thus your anger." Akame answered as she paced in front of Ruby

"Then... how would I get her to be more... normal?" Ruby questioned earning a tilt of confusion from Akame

"She is normal, as normal as she can be." Akame said clearly confused by Rubys words

"No, no, no, I mean how do I get her to act like... you know... normal." Ruby tried again

"No, I don't know." Akame replied causing Ruby to groan

"Why aren't you BOTH NORMAL!?" Ruby questioned loudly earning looks from the people walking past them "STAY IN YOUR OWN LANES! THIS IS NORMAL AROUND HERE!" Ruby shouted out causing the people to quickly go back to their business and confused Akame farther

"Well haven't you gotten assertive." A new voice came, both turned to see Coco and the rest of CFYV behind her

"After dealing with Esdeath and her army I figured out I cant take anyone's crap anymore." Ruby answered as she turned to them

"That's pretty good, but what are you doin' sitting around with someone like her?" Coco asked coldly as she gave Akame a once over

"_We_ are waiting for one of _our_ friends." Ruby answer far colder than Coco earning surprise from her team

"Kid I don't know if you know this or not but shes a Branwen, you know, that famous bandit tribe on southern Anima?" Coco said looking between the two "The same tribe that burn down three village in the last two weeks, there were no survivors." Coco continued as she turned her gaze to Akame, neither Ruby or Akame reacted to her statement

"I was not there, and I can assure you that Raven is not my favorite person, nor am I hers." Akame said shining her aura revealing a scar on the Aura of her right leg

"Woah, that's rare." Ruby said in awe watching as Akame aura flowed from her scar to the rest of her body

"This was a present from her." Akame said as her Aura faded "Her brother on the other hand; my father, is the one I've taken the name of, he is a huntsman and a powerful warrior."

"You mean that drunk that fought Esdeath with you?" Coco asked raising an eyebrow

"Yes." Akame answered confidently

"Somehow I don't think the 'powerful warrior' part is quite right." Coco snarked causing Akames gaze on her to harden quite a lot

"He was drunk and still defeated Esdeath, I think that speaks volumes of his abilities." Akame defended seemingly irritated by the woman's words

"I don't think an Atlas general is as good as any huntsman so-"

"Are you sure that's true?" a new voice asked, turning around everyone saw Esdeath standing behind them smiling at Ruby "I understand you're riding high from you... 'victory' but I have a hard time believing that you could come anywhere near my strength, you are more then welcome to die to try and prove me wrong..."

Coco seemed to be losing confidence very quickly by the pressure of Esdeath who had a form of black smoke engulfing her

"I- I- Its... just-" Coco tried to speak but failed due to fear

Walking slowly up to her Esdeath grinned, she knew Cocos' team wouldn't move they were all too scared, speaking in a quite almost caring tone "Its alright to fear me, its only natural for the weak to fear the strong." Esdeath then placed her hands on Cocos' shoulders and spoke out loud so her whole team could hear "Run." they didn't need to be told twice, the whole team practically vanished in every direction, after a few seconds she released Coco and she bolted suppressing her fear as much as possible

"Was that really necessary?!" Ruby questioned as Akame released Murasame and let out a sigh of relief

"No, but it is fun to watch them run, right?" Esdeath asked earning a sigh from Ruby

"No... its not." Ruby answered in a tired voice, it was clear that she was tired of having to explain to Esdeath how to act in public

"Well it was needed, here." Esdeath commented and held a plastic bottle to Ruby, it would have seemed normal if the bottle wasn't holding a dark red substance or that the container itself was covered in a thin sheet of ice, both of which had told them that it was Esdeaths' blood

"Is this really how this is done?" Ruby asked as she took the bottle and looked at the liquid inside it

"Yes it is, remember you have to drink it all down in one go, if you fail to do that you will die." Esdeath warned earning a sigh from Ruby "You should make your choice now; my soul or my blood."

"What does blood taste like?" Ruby questioned looking at the liquid swish around the icy bottle

"The best way to describe it is copper." Esdeath answered watching Ruby

"You shouldn't force this on her, we still have until the finals before they are certain to try anything." Akame finally spoke up joining in the conversation

"I'm not, I just want to see her when she does it, I'm curious on what it looks like from the outside." Esdeath explained her eye jumping from Ruby to Akame

"But aren't you concerned that you'll lose Demon's Extract?" Akame asked, she hid it well but Esdeath could tell she was very hopeful

"I still have my blood don't I? Besides multiple people can use the same Teigu what makes Demon's Extract any different?" Esdeath waved off

"The fact that its in your blood." Akame answered her hope unaltered

"Hmm, I doubt it." Esdeath said, as she grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and pulled her into her chest and spoke excitedly "I cant wait to see the choice you make."

"So... are you going to introduce us?" another voice came, Akame watched at a carbon copy of Esdeath but older walked up along side a large man with brown graying hair and tired blue eyes

"I was getting there, Ruby, Akame, this is my father and mother; Todd and Eisa Partas." Esdeath introduced them

"I honestly cant believe that you had nightmares of that girl." Eisa said coldly after looking Akame up and down

"Its only natural to fear your equal, besides it wasn't just her it was her father and his sister too." Esdeath reasoned placing a hand on Akames' shoulder, Akame quickly removed her hand and stepped away from her

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you call anyone an equal." Eisa commented then turned to Ruby and walked up to her and looked her dead in the eye

"Hello, I'm Ruby Rose, the one who your daughter is... taken with." Ruby greeted earning a raised eyebrow from Eisa

"So you _are_ the child Esdeath is so infatuated with... I don't see it." Eisa said after inspecting Ruby, Esdeath scoffed at that

"She is everything, I could have asked for and then some." Esdeath shot as she walked up to Ruby and rapped her arm around her shoulder "Far better than any of those suitors you tried to push on me." Esdeath continued her cold assault

"Pfft, do you have any idea how hard it was to get any of those men to meet with you after what you did in Atlas academy?" Eisa questioned coldly "You sent four of them to intensive care. Honestly you scared everyone for years."

"They were all weak and didn't fulfill my perimeters, I told you what would happen to them." Esdeath reasoned coldly her dislike of the old situation was surfacing along with her anger

"That's why we got solders and even then..." Eisa began but settled for a sigh of defeat "There's no getting that through your head, you may be able to expertly move around the political landscape of Atlas but you're still a Mantle brute at heart."

"I am using the knowledge you gave me to the best of my abilities, just as you wanted, after the Vytal festival, I'll either be Councilwoman Partas, or Reichsmarschall Partas, either way, I'll get a council seat, last I checked that's far better than you _mother_." Esdeath said confidently earning a double take from Akame who placed her hand on Murasame

"Akame?" Ruby asked watching her action

"Don't worry Akame, that wont give me any massive power over Atlas, unless things go perfectly then I might get both seats on the council, then we can settle our 'rivalry', and I'll be able to display your head on my mantelpiece." Esdeath said without even turning to her, Akame eyed her a while longer before releasing the hilt of Murasame

**(o)**

"I cant believe this is _our_ punishment." Qrow complained as he continued to write an apology letter to Glynda. They were sitting in a nearly empty classroom with quite classical music playing

"I'm angrier about the fact that I'm also doing this, I was barely involved." Winter replied as she did the same

"Yeah, why isn't Esdeath or Akame doing this?" Qrow asked looking over to Ozpin who was casually lounging in front of them

"Because Esdeath is in a position of power, and Akame is you daughter so I figured I'd punish you in her stead." Ozpin answered after sipping some coffee

"I actually had a question about that, where did she come from?" Winter asked looking to Qrow

"She was raised in the Branwen tribe until she reached the age of sixteen, that's when I ran into her-" Qrow began but was cut off by Winter

"I have read her journal and heard Esdeaths' stories of you, her, and Night Raid, I want to know the actual truth." Winter asked giving Qrow her full attention

"Well first off you need to stop listening to Esdeath, she'll be the death of you, I should know." Qrow said earning a growl from Winter

"What is the truth?" Winter growled clearly not wanting Qrows' bullshit... as normal

"You've already been told it, you just don't wanna know it." Qrow answered genuinely as he drew his flask and drank from it then returned it to his coat

"There's no way that's true, its impossible." Winter shot still angered by his words, surprisingly they heard a long sigh from the front of the classroom

"Nothing is impossible, do you think that humanity began to thrive because it was easy or conventional? That is one of the things that makes me dislike the youth of our world, they believe that the impossible is a reality and not a challenge to be better or to work harder." Ozpin cut in earning both their attention, Qrow rolled his eyes at that, Winter looked deeper in thought

"You know Oz, I sometimes think that your always thinkin' up little speeches like this in your spare time and just wait to use them in public." Qrow commented as he and Ozpin stared at each other

"That's not entirely true. I also think up cruel and unusual punishments." Ozpin replied jokingly earning a chuckle from Qrow

"Fair... that is fair." Qrow agreed, he then went back to writing, after a few minutes he held his head and groaned about a hangover which confused the other two occupants of the room, considering he was functioning as normal up until then

**(o)**

They finally stopped running looking over her shoulder Coco let out a sigh of relief "How the hell..."

"Coco." Velvet gasped through breaths, earning her leaders attention

"Yeah?" Coco replied as she hunched over and put her hands on her knees and panted heavily

"So you met her... and the general now, what do you think?" Velvet asked as she dropped to the ground with a sigh

"Akame... shes... I guess shes not that bad." Coco said through pants which quickly became deeper breaths

"What are you jealous?" Velvet asked sarcastically flowing her leaders lead

"Maybe a little. Did you see her? Her body is perfect, that's so angering, plus she dresses like that on the daily, she has a perfect body and shes hiding it like that, she can probably pull off anything I put her in." Coco vented as she stomped her foot then dropped to the ground looking downtrodden

"If you want to ask her to go shopping later you could." Velvet offered as her breathing returned to normal

"Not after what I said..." Coco said sadly, clearly regretting her words

"Rubys told me about her, I don't think that words matter to her." Velvet said earning a look from Coco who looked back at the ground sadly

"Don't worry about it so much, you should just sit down and apologize to her then its water under the bridge, then you two can go on a shopping spree." Velvet continued causing Coco to nod in agreement her confidence quickly growing

"Okay, I'll give it a shot. Besides what do I have to lose?" Coco agreed as she and Velvet stood and began to walk towards their dorm

**A/N Esdeath has grown her intelligence on the subtleties of diplomacy and has become a loved person in both Atlas and Mantle, kinda like Robyn but you know... not good, so she acts kinda like a link between the two earning her a large majority of votes from both, she is both a hero of the rich and poor alike, and has easily gained the appreciation of both save Jacques who cant speak badly of her because of said influence, she also tries to attend all his parties, just to watch him squirm. I feel I should also stress that the only people who took Qrow and Akame vs Esdeath and Winter seriously were Akame and Winter, Qrow and Esdeath were playing around for most of that, just showing off, like with Qrow vs Winter, in the original.**


	3. Kill the Resolve

Akame and Neo followed Esdeath down the winding halls of her ship, after Neo learned that Esdeath would allow her to visit Roman she 'asked' to go almost immediately, and almost begged Akame to come with her

"We'll be getting to his cell soon, then you two can talk to him, or just Neo... or if you wanna get really crazy Akame can just talk to him. I really don't care." Esdeath lazily said as they reached a new cell block and she turned down it, she stopped at the first cell

"Alright, you two have fun, I have work to do." Esdeath said neutrally as she began to walk back the way they came

"Are you ready Neo?" Akame asked looking to the shorter girl, Neo nodded happily seemingly excited to see Roman after weeks alone, Akame reached over to the door panel and pressed the button the says 'open' on it, it was a surprise that it wasn't a button but it still acted like one, the door opened and they were greeted by a room barely more than two meters squared with a bench taking up about half of it, Roman was sitting upside down on the bench with a book in his hands

"You're here early, lets get this over with." Roman began dryly as he lowered the book and did a double take "Neo? How did you-" Roman began to question but stopped when Neo transformed into Akame then grabbed Akame and pointed between the to of them

"Okay, just cause you two are doin' the sideways dance doesn't answer anything, how'd you get here, last I checked Esdeaths' running a rather tight ship up here."

"She felt the need to keep an eye on me so she gave me the rank of Oberst, it comes with some perks." Akame answered as she ignored Neo who kept poking her boobs, she learned over the past few days that Neo was similar to Leone in the fact that she gets what she wants eventually so it would be a waste of energy to stop her

"Neo stop that, its distracting." Roman ordered his eyes jumped from Akame to Neo who stuck her tongue out at him and transformed back to normal then gestured to Akames' chest then her face showing that shes almost on complete eye level with her chest

"I should probably be more annoyed by this shouldn't I?" Akame asked calmly turning her attention to Roman who shrugged

"Shes honest when it comes to her gesturing, but hey at least she likes your boobs. She can get really obsessive over people, especially people she has crushes on, I think shes just surprised that you haven't freaked out on her yet." Roman explained as Neo kept trying to lift Akames' skirt but was continuously foiled by Akame smacking her hand

"I have no reason to, besides we came here so she could see you, not me." Akame explained Neo looked at her then Roman and made a mouth with her hand and opened and closed it, then pointed at each of them

"Fair enough, she usually likes to listen to me talk so, I think us just talking will be enough for her." Roman guessed as he shifted around to see them the right way round

"You sound kind of like you're talking about an animal." Akame commented as Neo tried to juke her but failed catching both of Neos' hands Akame pulled her up off her feet and up to eye level "St-" Akame began but Neo cut her off by kissing her

"Honestly Neo, you're just making this awkward." Roman commented watching the scene in front of him "if you're going to spend this time like that do you mind if I get back to my book? And if you're here to get my permission to take her home just don't break the bed and all that shit." Roman said waving his hand

"How were you reading in there?" Akame asked looking at the ceiling of the cell there were no lights

"My semblance works in two ways; when I'm in the dark I can use Night vision, and when in the light, I can reflect any damage sent my way. I just call it refraction."

"That has multiple applications, and isn't just combat oriented, that's more than I can say." Akame said earning a slow nod from Roman

"Eh, everyone's got their talents, yours are just used for killin' killer and mine are used for stealing." Roman said down playing her implications "I will give you this bit of wisdom though; you should try using your semblance without your Aura a bit, it can get you out of a pinch."

"I thought it didn't work like that, I thought you needed Aura to use a semblance." Akame questioned both confused and saddened by his statement, her memories hopping to Mine briefly

"Yeah, most of the time. I don't know your semblance so I can't tell you much, most semblances' drain Aura because its suppose to drain your stamina, so as your Aura gets stronger then you can use your semblance more frequently." Roman explained which made a lot of things click for her "I thought they teach you this stuff in primary combat school."

"I didn't go to a primary combat school, so there are some things that I had to skip over." Akame explained earning a nod from Roman

"Yeah, its a lot tougher to use a semblance without Aura and it can be _super_ taxing, so you should get used to it, as long as you're not shooting lasers from your eyes, absorbing fire, reflecting damage, or something reactionary like that, then you should be able to use it, for example I cant use refection without aura but I can use night vision." Roman added Akame nodded and the two continued to talk while Neo happily listened to their words

**(o)**

"So, Ruby! Why do you have a bottle of General Esdeaths' blood?" Penny asked tilting her head in confusion and raising an eyebrow, Blake and Yang looked to their leader and waited for her answer, Ruby looked around the fairgrounds seeing no one paying attention to them she spoke

"That's... wel- I- y-you see- I..." Ruby quickly attempted to speak but remembered that she had to make a sentence first, so she stopped talking and composed herself before trying again "Its part of a plan we have created, for whats to come." Ruby quickly informed earning a nod from Penny who then spoke again her tone unchanged "That's a strange plan."

"Yes Penny... its a very strange plan." Ruby agreed with a sigh

"So, would you all like to hangout in the city after your next match?" Penny asked jovially then quickly added "Also who will you be sending to the doubles rounds, I would really like to know?"

"Sure, it'll be fun." Ruby agreed causing Penny to jump in the air and cheer "Also we were debating between Yang and Weiss or me and Yang, what do you think?"

"Hmm, from what I know about Yang and Weiss they wouldn't work well paired together, I predict they would have a 43% chance of winning against a team with good synergy, while you and yang have a 72% in the same situation." Penny answered after a few seconds Ruby blinked a few times then spoke "Well... I guess probability says me and Yang then." Ruby said after a few seconds of staring at Penny it was like she was with Akame or Esdeath

"Oh good, I'm glad I was able to help you make a decision, and I wish you luck in your next match if you decide to go with my suggestion, But for now I must go and meet with General Esdeath to deliver my report of today." Penny said turning on her heel and walked away happily, in her head Ruby was screaming in rage

"Why are you still carrying that around on you? Why haven't you dumped it down a drain?" Yang asked her hair sparking as she spoke, Ruby rolled her eyes and turned to her sister

"Because you know whats at stake here." Ruby answered as Yang advanced on her

"Just throw it away, you don't need that to-" Yang growled her anger clearly taking her reasoning

"I already have a target painted on my back, without that power I will die." Ruby cut off equaling Yangs' anger with cold

"Oh please, its just because Esdeath gave it to you, its a bottle of blood Ruby, that's disgusting." Yang growled her eyes burning Red but Ruby was unfazed by her words

"Yang, you know whats coming. If I don't have Demons Extract I'll die, and I don't want her to use her semblance on me again. If that happens then... then I'll never be me ever again." Ruby explained quickly her expression completely blank; to Yang she wasn't thinking straight, to herself it was the only logical thing to do

"Then you're willing to sell your soul for this power?!" Yang questioned grabbing Ruby by her shoulders and looked her sister dead in the eyes, Yang looked extremely tired, and Ruby could guess why, not that it mattered

"NO!.. No, I just want to protect you all, and if I have to give my blood for that then I'm willing." Ruby tried to reason again, but it was clear that she didn't quite believe it herself

"There has to be some other way, maybe Ozpin can think of one, maybe Qrow can... I don't know, just something else. Please." Yang nearly begged, Ruby blinked a few times at her sister, she knew Yang wasn't going to stop until she agreed so... she did

"Okay, I wont make any decisions until things take a turn." Ruby agreed earning a squeezes on the shoulder from Yang, it was annoying but to get Yang to stop and to make things better she had to do this

"Remember that you don't have to make a choice yet." Yang said as she pulled Ruby into a hug, Ruby returned the gesture and they stood like that for a few moments longer then separated and Yang spoke "Now that that's out of the way, do you guys wanna go watch the last of the team rounds?"

"Actually me and Esdeath were going to spar for a bit, I wanted to ask you to come with, it'll be fun." Ruby answered happily, Yang sighed and with a very conflicted heart agreed to go fight Esdeath... again

"I was going to do a bit of reading, you two have fun though." Blake quickly said and they all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Blake to enjoy a good book, Ruby and Yang to go get beaten up

**(o)**

Qrow leaned against Ozpins' desk and sighed

"I know we can't cause panic, but I'm getting real tired of not being able to see our enemies." Qrow said as he stared out the window

"I understand, but we want to try and keep damages to a minimum, we now know that we cant stop a disaster from occurring, but we do know that we can save people, so lets at least keep that in the forefront of our minds." Ozpin calmed, Qrow rolled his eyes and groaned

"I know but I'm not used to taking so much time off, with how things have been I feel like I'm growin' soft, I'll probably head to Mountain Glenn for a few days." Qrow said as he pushed off the desk and walked towards the elevator

"Be careful Qrow, you're of value to many people around here." Ozpin said earning a hum of agreement from Qrow

after the door shut Qrow sighed and leaned against the wall of the elevator

"This is such a pain." Qrow mumbled to himself

**(o)**

Weiss led Winter down the hallways towards their room, after arriving at the door Weiss stopped and turned to her sister

"Before you see our room... let me at least say... it was put to a vote." Weiss warned as she unlocked the door

"I'm sure it cant be that bad, besides you are all members of the Atlas military now so your quarters should be inspected." Winter waved off calmly as Weiss opened the door, revealing a filthy room with a set of bunk beds that looked extremely unsafe

"We haven't had any time to clean either, with how much has been going on around here." Weiss added carefully, Winter seemed to stop functioning entirely as she stared at the mess in front of her

"Winter?" Weiss asked and poked her sister

"Why did you let this happen?" Winter finally asked regaining focus

"What do you mean? I was hospitalized for a lot of this, or don't you remember me stabbing our boss?" Weiss snarked as she crossed her arms

"Sense when did you start having so much in common with Qrow?" Winter shot back with a light glare

"Sense his daughter taught me that family isn't blood, but the people who will stick their necks out for each other, _regardless_ of the consequences." Weiss shot back calmly

"Is that what this is about?" Winter asked, as she recalled the events of their capture a little over three month ago

"Somewhat, anyways let me show you everything else." Weiss waved off and began to show Winter around her room

**(o)**

Ruby fell to the ground again and raised Muranohi and blocked a strike from Esdeath her arms struggled to keep the pressure off, leaning back Esdeath dodged a punch from Yang who dived over her sister and rolled to a stop

"Your recovery needs work bootlicker." Esdeath commented as she watched Ruby slowly stand "and your skills with a sword have grown rigid, but we'll fix that." Esdeath finished and pointed her blade at Ruby, the sisters rushed forward Esdeath slashed at Yang sending a ice slash at her following through with the slash at Ruby sending an Aura arc slowing her down, Yang rushed through the attack and swung at Esdeath again, Esdeath blocked the strike and slammed her head into Yangs' stunning her, bringing her blade above her head she brought it down at Yang who disappeared into a flurry of rose petals and flew away from her, summoning a shard of ice Esdeath launched it at the flurry of yellow and red earning a grunt of pain and causing the petals to vanish sending the two girls to the ground, rolling to a stop Yang glared at Esdeath then looked to her sister who slow stood up then spun Muranohi and pointed it at Esdeath

"Come then, lets see what you can do." Esdeath challenged and turned her attention to Ruby, looking up at their Aura reserves it wasn't even close, Esdeaths' looked like it hadn't been touched yet and both her and Ruby were in the yellow, watching as her sister rushed Esdeath and immediately went on the defensive, Yang focused every last drop of her Aura she could control into her semblance, feeling her body grow heavier with each second she stood and watching Ruby and Esdeaths' actions grow faster and faster Ruby was quickly becoming out classed in speed Yang clenched her fists and rushed at Esdeath from behind, striking her caused the ground beneath them to shatter and sent Ruby away from them as fire engulfed everything around them, Esdeath was sent into the wall which shattered on her impact, looking up at the screen Yang felt her heart drop, Esdeaths' Aura had gone from 99% to 78%, Yang could think only one thing 'that woman is a monster.'

"A worthy effort, but futile." Esdeath commented as snow began to fall all around them the fire of Yangs' rage being drowned in Esdeaths' icy fury "Tell me bootlicker; how much were you expecting? Perhaps you thought that was your magic bullet? The key to your victory?" Esdeath questioned as she strolled from the broken wall a sadistic grin quickly spreading across her face "I will admit though; I was hoping for more desperation from you, I knew I shouldn't have let you hit me." Esdeath commented as she held her blade behind her and parried a strike from Ruby then capitalized on it by grabbing her by the hair and threw her at Yang, who was shaken from her horror by the crash

"Yang, are you okay? We have to think about this." Ruby said through gritted teeth as she stood and pulled her sister up with her as Esdeath walked towards them slowly, Yang looked between Esdeath and Ruby trying to think of something to say that would justify her horror, tried to rationalize her fear of Esdeath, but she couldn't

"It seems that the bootlicker has finally accepted that she will never be able to approach true strength and that you will be mine, forever." Esdeath taunted earning a growl of rage from Yang who began to spark again, but she didn't have a choice in being scared of her

"Are you sure you want to try again? You only have twelve percent of your Aura left, should I land a hit on you it will more than likely prove to be fatal." Esdeath warned though her tone held no concern for Yangs' safety, Yangs' thoughts cleared as Esdeath spoke and she realized one thing; that just because shes scared doesn't mean she shouldn't do what she thinks is right, Yang roared with rage ignoring Rubys' call to stop, she swung at Esdeath who sighed with disappointment and cocked back her arm to swing at her, Yang redirected her strike to aim below her and launched herself over the strike and fired two rounds into Esdeath back causing her to stumble forward, quickly swing back as she stumbled her strike just missed Yangs' throat, rolling away from Esdeath Yang reloaded her gauntlets and grinned confidently at the woman, who smirked back at her

"Finally, Yang Xiao-Long has returned, now do us both a favor and kill that bootlicker." Esdeath said clearly happy by Yangs' choice in action, rushing towards Yang Esdeath cocked her arm back ready to stab and it finally hit Yang, Esdeath was telegraphing all of her actions in advanced, she'd seen her actually fight before, it was like watching her limbs teleport from one spot to another but here she was placing herself on par with the two of them so they could learn how to handle someone a little stronger than themselves, tilting her head out of the way Yang ducked avoiding the follow up slash at her throat and landed a strike into Esdeaths' gut which was blocked but it still sent her sliding up next to Ruby who was smiling happily at her sister

"It seems your plan worked perfectly." Esdeath commented as she sheathed her blade, Ruby sighed and dropped to the ground

"Yeah it did, but did you have to be so rough with us? I could tell you weren't holding back much." Ruby questioned as Yang walked up next to her sister and dropped down with a sigh of relief

"This was, in my opinion, for you too." Esdeath said sitting down next to them, Ruby looked over to her blushed and quickly looked back at the ceiling "While getting Yang from her weakened state was our main goal, getting you comfortable with Muranohi is a personal goal for me, you were good with it but after it left your possession, you fell back onto your scythe, and forgot almost everything about how to use a sword... and hand to hand for that matter." Esdeath said, Yang looked up at the board with their Aura levels on it, hers was at 3% and slowly ticking upward, Rubys was at 29% and quickly ticking upward Esdeaths' was at 92% and was at 100% before Yang looked away from the board

"How are you so good at everything you do?" Yang asked looking over to Esdeath and saw right up her skirt and decided that the ceiling was a better place to look

"I'm not, you've only seen me in a combat situation which is my specialty; I cant cook complex foods, I have rather poor skills in Calligraphy, Mathematics is a minor issue when it comes to things beyond Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division; I'm not big on Commerce I still give my money to my army and let them do with it as they please, I can build simple weapons but anything like yours is beyond me, and I cant hit the broad side of a barn with a gun, also Video games, cant figure those out to save my life."

"Then what are you doin' on your scroll all the time?" Ruby asked looking over at Esdeath again then the ceiling and cursed herself for forgetting

"Reading mostly, that's something that I've always found useful and relaxing; apart from torture and hunting." Esdeath answered as she shifted to lie down next to Ruby

"Why do you do things like that?" Yang asked "Why torture? Of all things in the world?"

"That's simple, I've experienced pain and I've inflict it on others, but there is an art to it, torture is much more than causing harm, it about bringing out the worst in people, then finding out if they were of any use to you. Of course people will say what ever it takes to get someone to stop hurting them, that's why you have to be able to determine the difference between the lies and the truth." Esdeath explained happily "I've gotten so good at telling the difference that its near impossible to lie to me." Esdeath boasted, Yang saw that as a challenge

"In my third year at signal I beat up a group of kids for harassing Ruby." Yang said, Esdeath watched her as she spoke

"Lie, it was your third year, and a group of kids were harassing Ruby but you didn't beat them up; you got beaten yourself." Esdeath answered earning a nod from Ruby and an embarrassed blush from Yang

"Okay... My first hair cut was when I was eleven." Yang said, Esdeath watched her closely still

"Lie, I'd say you were a bit younger, eight at least ten is the most likely age though." Esdeath said confidently earning a jaw drop from both Ruby and Yang

"That's... correct." Yang confirmed earning a grin from Esdeath

After a few moments of thinking Yang spoke again "My mother... stayed with us until I was five."

"Lie, your coward of a mother left you and Tai alone after you stopped suckling off her teat." Esdeath answered earning a slow nod from Yang

Yang rolled over onto her back and stared at the wall of the arena as she spoke again "Do you know why she left?" Yang asked neutrally but she was still desperate for answers

"No, but I assure you if I do get my hands on her, that will be one of my first questions." Esdeath confidently said as she stood and pulled Ruby up with her

"You two should go, I believe that the doubles will be starting in a few days, so a few classes will be held to go over what you learned, you should prepare." Esdeath said, Ruby nodded as she obviously forced a smile she then walked out of the arena to change, but Yang stayed

"Esdeath? I saw while we were fighting your aura dropped from 100 and once it did that it stayed at 99, whys that?"

"Its called combat regeneration, tons of people can do it, and those that do do it only do it to show off." Esdeath explained as she crossed her arms "It requires you to focus on regenerating you Aura while fighting, that's where the showing off part comes in, its a way of saying 'you're not worth my time.'." Esdeath finished explaining neutrally, she then grinned and spoke again "If you want, I could teach you, if only to keep the arrogant tradition going." as Esdeath finished speaking she smirked at Yang, who looked down at the ground for a bit thinking on her words

"That seems kinda fun, but I wanted to ask you to train me too. I want to be strong enough to fight along side Ruby as she grows faster than ever, I cant even keep up with her anymore." Yang answered, Esdeath smiled genuinely at that as she spoke again in a far sweeter tone "I would be more than happy to teach you, just know; the torture you endured at my hands will seem like nothing in comparison."

"Just don't make me lick your boots again." Yang ordered her voice shaking a bit despite her attempt to prevent it

"That all depends on your new found resolve." Esdeath commented as Yang turned and walked towards the locker rooms, as she did so she flipped Esdeath off, Esdeath smiled at that and turned away to sit at her desk

**(o)**

Akame finished the last of the dishes and said her goodbyes to the kitchen staff, after their bumpy start the cooks and Akame became good friends and she would help around the kitchen a lot, she even used to help cook, until they learned that she ignored what people ordered and gave them loads of meat to Akame though it was a good distraction from the ocean of people that filled the cafeteria, but her time working has come to its end, exiting the kitchen, Akame grabbed a large plate of dinner made as thanks for her help by the kitchen, which she was very thankful for, sitting down at an empty table, Akame began to eat

after a while of eating she heard a voice say her name, looking over she saw Cardin he looked tired and disheveled, but far better than what Ruby had told him

"Hello Cardin." Akame greeted as she continued to eat

"I... I need your help." Cardin finally said as he sat down next to her

"With what?" Akame asked now confused by his words

"How do you deal with the... stress? Pain? How do you deal with the death of a teammate?" Cardin questioned earning a nod from Akame

"You cant. You just suffer it and keep moving, learn to control your pain over their loss and turn it on your enemies. That's all you can do." Akame answered, Cardin nodded at that and looked down at the table

"I've never lost anyone, so... I guess losing three at once is... tougher... I guess." Cardin tried to rationalized his state to her, he was rather embarrassed that he need to lean on someone like her for help

"It never gets easier, and thinking that it will, will only hurt you more." Akame explained as she finished eating "I cant help you Cardin, only you can." after that Akame stood and walked away from him

**(o)**

With a sigh Qrow sat down on the roof of a crumbling building, things have only gotten worse around here, but this time he didn't get ambushed half a dozen times so things were looking up, looking down into the streets below he saw hundreds of Grimm, all seemingly searching for something, unfortunately for them if their looking for a way into Vale their not gonna find a pipeline straight into the city... maybe... he hoped someone sealed that maintenance tunnel... he was gonna go check anyways, but still hope was useful. With a sigh Qrow stood and transformed in search for a way down

**(o)**

finding the entrance they once used to get down there he dived down then curved into the maintenance access hatch and made his way into the under city he saw it was mainly empty save for a few packs of smaller Grimm here and there, transforming back to normal, he made his way to the metro they traveled through and surprisingly found multiple Atlesian specialist corpses scattered around the entrance, with a sigh he continued down the metro tunnel with each step he heard the Grimm in the tunnel ahead, drawing Harbinger he transformed it and rested it on his shoulder as he walked along the tracks, a few creeps charged him and with one swing of Harbinger turned to ash, as he walked through the battlefield created by Esdeath and RWBY he saw dozens of corpses all lying in puddles of dry blood and water the smell of rot strongly holding the area, ignoring them he continued towards the train.

Finally reaching the train he hopped up top and walked past his own battlefield then dropped down into the control room and looked around it, barely anything had changed sense they had been down here, with a sigh Qrow hopped out of the train car and entered the maintenance tunnel, there were a few creeps trying to dig through a collapsed bit of rubble and hadn't noticed him; their mistake, killing them he exited the collapsed stairwell then shut the door and locked it, he'd have to tell Ozpin about this when he got back, and he'd have to tell Esdeath about the deaths of her specialists.

**(o)**

Finally finding her, Ruby sat down next to Akame who was staring up at Amity and let out a sigh

"Hey Akame, I wanted to ask you who you think we should send to the doubles?" Ruby said after looking from Amity to the setting sun

"Weiss and Yang." Akame answer almost instantly, she then explained her choice her tone completely neutral "They have the weakest synergy, so they should be put in a do or die situation. That will fix the issues they've been having... or they'll deal with it separately." Ruby looked confused at her statement

"They've been having issues?" Ruby asked clearly surprised and looking back in her mind for an example

Akame spoke as she leaned back in her seat "They haven't been having personal issues, they've been having teamwork issues, whenever you're all fighting together you both stick to your partners, you've been capable of working with Blake but Yang cant work with Weiss when she needs to, so that's what you must force them to do." Ruby nodded at that then the question she was wondering came to her mind "Okay, but what if they lose?"

"If they lose then they will learn from the humiliation and failure." Akame answered earning a sigh from Ruby before she asked "Why are you and Esdeath so cynical?"

"Because both of us have good reason to be." Akame answered "We have seen nothing but the selfishness and rage of humanity, besides, I know you've seen it too, you see the world the same way we do now." Akame said as she looked to Ruby who was now glaring at the ground

"So? Just cause I see the same way you do doesn't mean I can't be positive from time to time." Ruby questioned coldly, Akame sighed and leaned forward off the back of the bench

"I'm not saying its a bad thing, but you're lying to everyone. Every time you think no one is watching you, you'll drop the act. The longer you treat everyone like this the less positivity you'll be able to show when its actually needed." Akame explained as she watched Ruby lean back

"Tell me one time positivity save anyone?" Ruby asked her tone unchanged, Akame couldn't think of any one time in her life that positivity saved her or her friends, it only killed them "See. You can't think of one, I cant think of one, is it really going to save us?"

"Probably not, but it does keep the Grimm away, so it has some uses." Akame answered earning a scoff from Ruby

"Maybe then we can hug Salem to death." she said sarcastically, Akame smiled at her words and spoke

"It might work... but that would be years of effort from Ozpin wasted." Akame snarked as she stood and began to walk away, Ruby sighed and looked at her hands, after a few moments she reached back and placed her hand on the cold bottle in her ammo pouch, it brought her a small amount of comfort in a strange way...

**A/N Nothing to really say about this chapter, if you got any questions shoot me a PM and as long as its not spoilers I'll give you a general idea, then there are specific things that I cant tell which come into relevance later in the story, and if I do than all these problem's start popping up but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.**


	4. Kill the Funk

Qrow sighed as he walked into Amity again, Ozpin asked him to watch the doubles matches to see if he found anyone that he recognized, honestly he didn't care all that much about the whole thing, he could guess that they wouldn't be able to find them until things went down, but he knew Oz is just be cautious as he should be, leaning on the railing he watched as Yang entered the arena alongside Weiss

"Is this why you wanted me to be here?.. fine." Qrow said to no one as he crossed his arms over the railing and watched

**(o)**

"So... who we fighting again?" Yang asked, as she calmly checking her gauntlets

"Were fighting, FNKI from Atlas." Weiss answered matching the calm of her teammate

"Well, do you know what we can expect?" Yang asked and looked to her current partner

"We'll either deal with competent fighters or... incompetent fighters, we cant expect anything specific otherwise." Weiss answered earning a hum of agreement from Yang "So why've you been so calm?"

"Esdeath has taught me a lot in the past few days." Yang answered as she looked at her hands "I haven't necessarily been as smart as I could be when I fight, shes been... a good teacher."

"I cant say I disagree." Weiss commented as she stared towards their foes, Yang following her gaze to their enemies, one was a man wearing a gray vest over an untucked white button up with an untied blue tie around his neck and he had a black and blue fedora on top of his head, he had a trumpet in his hands

"Well, well, well, Weiss Schnee; the heiress, right?" Flynt asked as his partner rolled around him on roller-blades, she was... annoyingly talking over him to Yang, who was ignoring her

"That I am." Weiss answered neutrally earning a scoff from Flynt

"I guess that means you know your dust then." he added, earning a nod from Weiss "My dad knows his too, until your father ran him outta business."

"Sadly that's how monopolies work, much like the real world it is unfair for everyone involved. Personally my father is at the bottom of my 'favorite people list' too." Weiss answered his attempt to anger her with a calm statement

"I guess you Schnee's _are_ heartless." Flynt followed up coldly

"Not heartless, just able to keep a cool head when confronted with an obvious attempt to off balance me." Weiss corrected as she looked at the biomes that were selected; Lava, Anti-gravity, Urban, and Ocean, they could work with this.

"Are you done?" Yang asked cutting off Neons' endless stream of words

"Uggh, you guys are no fun." Neon complained as she readied to rush them and Flynt took a deep breath, Weiss and Yang shared a look and nodded

"The match will begin in 3... 2.. 1. GO!" Ports voice came causing the cheering to grow louder, Yang fired her gauntlets in front of her and kicked off the ground sending her into the Anti-gravity biome, she was quickly chased by Neon, Weiss dived out of the way of a massive blast of wind from Flynt and ran off to the ocean biome

"Where you goin' Schnee?" Flynt shouted as he walked after her

**(o)**

Yang landed on one of the platforms and looked it over, it was long enough for her to build up momentum but not enough for Neon to do the same, the bars around the platform turned white and she suddenly felt her gravity shift and she fell up into a different platform, standing she looked up she saw the ground and Neon who as standing sideways on a far shorter platform

"So... is this trippy or what?" Neon asked as she looked to her left at the ground

"Yeah, it is." Yang agreed as she ran and jumped her gravity shifting back to normal then sideways as she landed on the same platform as Neon, this time she landed on her feet

"Oooh, so was this your plan? Get me all tripped out they beat me up? Its a good one but..." Neon hastily said as she tried to rush Yang in a flurry of rainbows, tried being the operative word, Yang ran forward and before Neon could build up the momentum needed for her to fight, catching Neons' nunchaku Yang quickly kneed her in the jaw sending her off the platform and into normal gravity where she hung off the platform

"Huh... umm..." Neon looked around at her options hanging there she quickly cracked her nunchaku and caused it to turn blue, Yang still holding the nunchaku recognized it as ice dust and pumped the weapon full of Aura causing an explosion sending Neon to the ground and her onto an upside down platform both covered with a thin sheet of ice

"Ow... dammit." Neon shivered and looked at her weapon seeing cracks all over it, with a sigh she stood and cracked it again this time it turned red, looking up at the platform Yang was on, she now knew why she ran here, Yang took a guess at her semblance and she was right, looking up at the Aura levels she was shocked to she them, hers' was at 62% and Flynts' was as 79% but what the real problem was their opponents Yangs' was at 90% and was quickly refilling itself, and Weisss' was at 81%, looking up at Yang she was greeted by a ball of fire hitting her square in the face sending her to the ground, with a groan she began to stand up, she stood faster when she heard someone land heavily in front of her, Yang cracked her knuckles and prepared herself for Neons' counterattack

"Where'd all that snark from earlier go?" Yang asked casually earning a growl from Neon, this chick was starting to get on her nerves

**(o)**

Weiss landed on the water and summoned a glyph to kick off of, as she went farther into the biome she found a foremast and climbed to the top of it and watched for Flynt who was casually making his way towards the biome once he got there he looked at the waist deep water and jumped to a small island, Weiss sat and watched him grow closer, closing her eyes she focused causing three white Beowolf's to appear one was an alpha

"HA! HA! That is one of ms. Schnees' many abilities!" Port called out earning everyone's attention

"Yes, Yes! With her abilities she is able to summon any number of fallen enemies and turn them on her new enemies, making her fights easier, that's more impressive is that it doesn't cost her any Aura once they are destroyed." Oobleck took over

Weiss rolled her eyes, she spend quite a few days working to get her summoning to work and even more to fill her collection with capable enemies but thanks to winters help she was more than prepared to deal with this

Flynt blocked a strike from the Alpha and landed in the water, Weiss quickly kicked off the mast and cut Flynt across the neck just as the alpha slashed him causing him to flip Weiss froze the water just as she was about to land in it then activated the gravity dust in Myrtenaster and sent Flynt flying out of the arena. With a sigh Weiss began to make her way to where she expected Yang to be.

**(o)**

Yang took hit after hit from Neon as she quickly dashed around her trying to drain her Aura, Esdeath had taught her how to begin to implement Aura regeneration into combat so that's what she was doing right now, With each hit she took she focused on her regeneration more than actually fighting back, after the attacks stopped she opened her eyes to see Neon gawking at the screen

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Neon shouted, looking up at the screen Yang watched as her Aura rapidly healed from 67% and quickly hit 100%, she wasn't even focusing on it, grabbing her hair she noted that it was on dripping with fire, her semblance automatically activated to get rid of the massive amount of energy she absorbed, so Yang decided to tests what would happen if she activated it, activating her semblance she rushed Neon, who didn't react; she was still reacting to Yangs' Aura regeneration, cocking her arm back a bit she punched Neon sending her flying all the way into the hard light barrier on the other side of the arena, with a sigh Yang relaxed and felt her Aura shatter, looking up at the screen she read off the Aura levels

Weiss Schnee- 57%

Yang Xiao-Long- 0% Eliminated

Flynt Coal- 70% Eliminated

Neon Katt- 0% Eliminated

"we won... huh... I'm gonna nap." Yang said and collapsed to the ground feel completely exhausted

**(o)**

"Well it seems firecracker kicked it up a notch. Good on her." Qrow commented as he watched Weiss run over to her and begin to lift her

"Your welcome." Esdeaths' voice came from behind him "Shes a quick learner."

"Sense you're here does this mean I get to break your nose?" Qrow asked changing the subject completely

"No, the Vytal Festival tournament wasn't set up by, nor was it sponsored by me." Esdeath denied earning a groan from Qrow, leaning next to him she spoke again "I got something strange in my last supply shipment, it was addressed to Akame, from Ironwood."

"Oh good, I'm sure she'll be happy." Qrow said seeming to light up at her statement

"My question is how did you get Due Process from him?" Esdeath asked turning to him

"Due Process, is one in a million, but its not like he doesn't have backups." Qrow answered "James likes to hold onto one pair until both break, he never liked to wait for new ones to be made so he just had a ton of them made when he was... I think... Oberfeldwebel?... it doesn't matter, so he has like twenty of them ready to go, so I asked him for one for Akame cause she cant move around in the air."

"Not a very creative solution." Esdeath commented as she turned and watched Weiss carry Yang out of the arena

"I never said I had a creative solution, I just wanted to get her a good gun for cheep... thus, this outcome." Qrow explained as he reached into his coat grabbed his flask and took a drink

"You really shouldn't do that." Esdeath commented watching him drink

"Ha ha." Qrow laughed dryly and took another drink

"I'm being serious, it'll only cause you problems in the future." Esdeath said again, Qrow ignored her by drinking more while glaring at her

"Seriously, this is the first time I'm actually _trying_ to be nice to you and what do you do? Drink. Why do you even do that?" Esdeath questioned, Qrow sighed and returned his flask to his coat, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo and held it out to her

"Not that you'd understand." Qrow commented coldly, as she looked at the photo, quickly taking the photo she stared intently at the first person in it

"Who is that?" Esdeath asked as she pointed at the woman covered by a white cloak

"Summer Rose; team leader and one of the kindest people I ever met. KIA." Qrow answered yanking the photo from her and looked it over, once he was certain that it wasn't bent or wrinkled in any way he returned it to his pocket

"I _knew_ her. I cant believe that." Esdeath said earning a double take from Qrow

"You what?" Qrow asked staring her dead in the eyes

"She was at the Imperial Military Academy at the same time as me and Najenda, she was one of the few people I considered equal, she was... popular, a genius, powerful, and kind. So many people tried to kill her, blackmail her, or cozy up to her, they all failed. She was basically a golden child." Esdeath answered looking into the distance "After we all graduated to command roles, the three of us went our separate ways, she was the first of us to become a General, and she was the first of us to defect... or that's at least what I was told, when I was sent to hunt her down..."

**(\\_/)**

_Entering the cave, Esdeath looked around there was nowhere to hide, so she walked deeper as she drew her blade_

"_Esdeath." came a calm voice behind her, turning Esdeath pointed her blade at the shorter woman who calmly stared her down_

"_I expected you to be cowering in fear, not talking." Esdeath said casually, the thought that she could lose to this woman was at the forefront of her mind though and it filled her with excitement_

"_Why would I cower from an old friend?" Summer asked as she pushed the blade away from her and walked deeper into the cave and gestured for Esdeath to follow her, so she did, reaching the back of the cave, she found a small campsite, and Summer sat down near a small fire and whispered at it, after her words the flames grew much larger_

"_So are you trying to make yourself comfortable before you die? Or are you trying to get me to drop my guard?" Esdeath asked again pointing her blade at Summer_

"_I don't plan on dying yet, and yes to the second one, it hard to relax otherwise." Summer said as she pulled down her hood and smiled "Besides, humanity should kill itself don't you think?"_

"_We are creatures like any other, why wouldn't we kill each other?" Esdeath shot back, earning another smile from Summer_

"_I should have thought that was coming." Summer laughed out "I'm not talking about Danger Beasts, I'm talking about animals; birds, dogs, fish and the such. Isn't it weird that we're the only animals on the planet that kill each other in such a high volume?"_

"_I never took you for a pacifist." Esdeath commented as she sheathed her blade_

"_I am a pacifist, just one who can kick ass, when it suites her." Summer answered as she tossed another log on the fire_

"_That's not completely wrong, I feel I should tell you, I've been ordered to kill you." Esdeath said as she sat down across from Summer who hummed neutrally at that_

"_Yeah, I know. Honest is a wittle angwy that I wasn't giving him my paycheck. So he sent one of my best friends to hunt me down." Summer said earning a chuckle from Esdeath_

"_Yes, unfortunately though, most other Generals aren't as powerful as me." Esdeath commented confidently earning a smirk from Summer_

"_Us, as powerful as us." Summer corrected earning another chuckle from Esdeath_

"_Care to put that to the test?" Esdeath asked placing her hand on the hilt of her blade_

"_I could, but that would just draw a larger target on my back, when I beat you." Summer waved off confidently "I'll be going now, enjoy the fire while it lasts it'll be getting colder from here... if you'll be chasing me."_

"_Bold of you to assume I'd let you escape." Esdeath shot back quickly drawing her blade and swung at the womans' neck but the blade dropped to the ground seemingly gaining hundreds of pounds, summoning blades of ice she stabbed them at Summer only for them to turn to water and fly back into her face, Summer had barely moved apart from drawing her Warhammer from her cloak, with a sigh_

"_I don't want to do this Esdeath, I know how nice you can be, you're just choosing not to be." Summer tried, Esdeath growled at her then snapped her fingers summoning shards of ice which flew at Summer, before they hit her they stopped turned to Esdeath and flew at her, dodging her own attack she looked up at Summer who's hammer was now covered in electricity and glowing a faint blue_

"_I'm giving you the chance to walk out of here, and tell your men that you found nothing. Take it." Summer ordered coldly, this was the first time Summer had ever sounded angry and even then it was like an angry parent, with a growl Esdeath dived at Summer, who moved her hammer in front of her, quickly summoning a blade of ice she threw it at Summer point blank just as the hammer hit her in the gut electrocuting her and sending her into the wall of the cave, looking up at Summer Esdeath watched as she reached up and pulled the blade of ice from her throat, it quickly turned to water and enter the wound causing it to heal, Esdeaths' eyes widened at the act, Summers' calm look never left her face as hoisted the hammer over her shoulder, and walked towards the exit_

"_I'm sorry the last time we see each other was this. I hope that you learn to love life, as I do. Because one day you'll find yourself in a situation where that will be your only salvation." Summer said and she began to walk before she could make it far she stopped again "I once fought an enemy like how you see me, I lost. She was far more ruthless then I am, she took much from me; my family, my friends, my home, and my life. There's a precious balance that must be preserved. One which you fail to see." Summer then continued her walk, before she vanished into the light she tossed a small gray pendent over her shoulder, Esdeath could have sworn she shimmered red too. Esdeath was left alone to deal with the paralysis she was feeling, staring at the pendent she quickly recognized it as Shambhala..._

**(o)**

"That was the last time I saw her." Esdeath finished, glaring into the distance "She treated me like I was a good person even when I tried to kill her."

"Yeah, that sounds just like Summer... 'cept for the healing part without Aura." Qrow commented neutrally "I'm gonna go... get a drink." he said after a few minutes

"Qrow you don't nee-" Esdeath began but Qrow interrupted her

"I don't _need_ your damn opinion, okay." Qrow growled as he stalked off towards the nearest bar

**(o)**

"They did far better than I expected." Cinder commented as she leaned back in her seat

"'Course they did, but I can see a few areas in need of improvement." Ruby said in a distracted voice as she made a mental list, she asked Emerald if her and her team would like to watch Yang and Weisss' match with her, their leader agreed rather quickly

"You're truly a good leader, so tell me; how did you get into beacon so early?" Cinder asked leaning back in her seat watching Ruby now

"Ah well, you see, I stopped a dust robbery. It was conducted by Roman Torchwick, so you know... it was kinda a big deal, so Professor Ozpin thought it would be a good idea to get me into Beacon earlier than normal."

"Isn't that strange to you?" Cinder asked raising an eyebrow at the younger of the two

"Meh... I've had to grow up a lot faster if that's what you're wondering. Akame and Esdeath have been good at helping me with that, without them I don't think I'd be as powerful as I am."

"Oh, and how'd they help, I can understand the general, but I cant understand Akame." Cinder questioned earning a hum from Ruby

"Well... Akame taught me a lot about forgetting emotion in favor of completing objectives, how to be comfortable around gore, and a few other things that I'll keep secret... so there's that, and Esdeath taught me that humans are greedy and evil, how to fight with swords, and how to manipulate people. Honestly though, I think their both just hurt by their pasts... a lot of people suffer from injustice and they are no different, they just needed someone to hold their hand out to them and offer help." Ruby explained earning a surprised look from Cinder

"Oh really? I expected some... delusional fantasy from you... not a rather large dose of reality." Cinder commented earning a quick laugh from Ruby

"Maybe if I didn't know either of them... but now..." Ruby began but was suddenly hit with reality and slouched in her seat "...but now I don't even know what right is. What would be considered right if everyone has such vastly different views on the world and huntsman? Esdeath doesn't believe right exists, its just humans greedily killing each other for power. Akame believes that there's no such thing as good, there's just people doing what they want." Ruby explained in a tired voice "I'm starting to get tired of being the kindness that everyone needs... sometimes I just want to..."

"Scream?" Emerald offered she was used to Rubys' lighter personally

"No, they make me so furious from time to time, I cant imagine anything other then trying to..." anger growing in her voice as she spoke, before she could finish her statement, she stopped herself, after a few moments she sighed and put her head in her hands and spoke quietly "Its nothing... you guys should go, your doubles match in gonna be called soon anyways." Cinder placed her hand on Rubys shoulder and spoke

"If you even have need of someone you wish to talk to, don't hesitate to ask me or my team." she then stood and walked away quickly followed by her team, Ruby watched them leave then turned her attention back to the arena

**(o)**

Akame walked into Amity and looked around, hundreds of people were crowding around, the flow of students and civilians was constant, people boarding aircraft's, and people disembarking them, right now she was surprised as to how calm she was about this, this place was a dead trap if it were ever attacked, but could also be an impenetrable fortress with the right actions taken, it was a strange thought process to be having right now, but she wasn't here for any of the problems that could come with that, she was here for RWBY

"Akame?" A familiar voice came, rolling her eyes she put her hands in her pockets and began to stalk as Qrow does, while doing so she finally figured out why Qrow does this, it makes her seem far less approachable, looking over her shoulder she watched Lisa quickly give up on trying to get her attention out of fear, looking forward again Akame stalked towards the arena

entering the bleachers Akame looked through the contenders bleachers she couldn't see any of team RWBY, with a sigh she began towards the waiting rooms for Beacon students, assuming that's where they are all at, as she walked she felt a hand grab her shoulder, looking over she saw Esdeath

"You should go make sure your father doesn't... do anything stupid." Esdeath said her tone completely masked "He may or may not be drinking away his... this one may actually be on me, and I doubt he wants to see me anytime soon, so I figured I'd ask you to go get him." Akame nodded and began in the opposite direction she was going, heading towards the nearest bar...

Qrow was easy to find, walking up to him Akame placed her hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her

"Hey kiddo." Qrow greeted hes words were only slightly slurred

"Esdeath said I should come get you before you do something stupid." Akame said earning a nod from Qrow and he grabbed the drink in front of him and downed all of it

"That does sound like me." Qrow agreed as he tossed some Lien on the bar and stood "Where to?" he asked as they began to walk away from the bar with a slight stumble

"I was going to visit Yang and Weiss to congratulate them." Akame answered "So, how did Yang heal herself mid combat?"

"Seems she figured out how to do combat regeneration, its pretty simple but it requires focus, I can manage it too but its not all that useful." Qrow explained as they walked

"So, is it possible for me to learn it?" Akame asked, searching for ways to becomes more effective on the battlefield

"It all depends if you can focus on regenerating your Aura while you take and deal out damage, if you want to learn that I'd assume Esdeath could teach y-" Qrow began as he stumbled slightly and Akame interrupted him

"I can manage without it." Akame waved off as she helped Qrow steady himself

"I can too, besides in most battles between huntsman regenerating your Aura really doesn't help." Qrow agreed as they walked "So... have you figured out what you want to use for aerial movement yet?" he finally asked

"I don't know, I can send myself downward but I cant really move around mid-air, I feel like that kind of messes with my combat mobility, so... I've began to look into it, maybe I should get a gravity ring for Murasame, and one for myself, so I can pull us together."

"That'd work, but getting gravity rings is an expensive investment, I got something like that for harbinger." Qrow said and held up his right hand showing her his rings "They break after a few uses though, so I try to use them sparingly. It makes using them a... painful endeavor, considering getting rings like that is expensive and limited." Qrow explained "I've had these ones for... about five years now."

"It also doesn't offer unpredictable mobility." Akame reasoned neutrally

"Yeah, but you can use it to call your weapon back, or attack a person if you're skilled enough." Qrow reasoned "Its more of personal preference, I only use them when Harbinger is our of my reach and I'm in a tight spot, otherwise its pointless."

**(o)**

"So... why'd we spend all that time with her?" Mercury asked as they walked into the Haven waiting rooms

"That's simple, I wanted to understand what we're dealing with. But I think we could use her conflict to our advantage." Cinder answered neutrally

"How so?" Mercury asked again this time far more confused

"That's simple, last time we dealt with a maiden she wasn't conflicted, do you recall that?" Cinder explained giving him the most obvious example she could think of

"Yeah, it was a pain. So I assume you're thinkin' if we conflict her so much, she would be an easy target yeah?" Mercury deduced earning a nod from Cinder

"Shes already destroying herself, all we have to do is strike when the iron is hot." Cinder added confidently her smirk growing at they walked

**(o)**

Esdeath sat down and looked at Yangs' sleeping body, Weiss was sitting next to her reading a book

"You pushed yourself rather hard... there will be quite the promotion waiting for you when you wake up." she said watching as Yang rolled over in her sleep

"So wait, I stabbed myself to reach Spezialistenkader-Oberschütze and she just passes out to get the same thing!?" Weiss questioned in outrage

"Yes, she has also been training with me for the past few days, rather hard I might add. I expect you wish to join us then?" Esdeath asked grinning sadistically at Weiss who quickly fell in line

"I'm good... ma'am." Weiss said her outrage quickly turning to fear

"Good, now then; have you had someone come see her?" Esdeath questioned as she crossed her legs and arms

"Yeah, one of the paramedics said that she completely exhausted her Aura supply and then some, I've never seen someones Aura drain that quickly before." Weiss answered as she thought back as to how Yangs' Aura went from full to empty in less than a five seconds, Esdeath chuckled at that then spoke "Yangs' semblance is quite the thing to witness... I wish I got to see it more frequently, but whenever I fight with her she can't seem to concentrate enough to activate it, not that it effects her combat abilities."

"I can understand that, somehow whenever you hit, it always feels like a train." Weiss sympathized as she looked over Yang

"While that is true I am rather slow." Esdeath said earning a gawk from Weiss

"You're kidding... right?" Weiss asked earning a raised eyebrow from Esdeath

"Hey guys!" Ruby said as she jogged up to them "I woulda been here sooner if Coco didn't ask me questions about what Akame likes... which now that I think about it is kinda weird... oh well."

"Ruby, how fast is Esdeath?" Weiss asked quickly asked before Esdeath had a chance

"Faster than me, why?" Ruby answered as she sat down across from Esdeath

"She thinks shes slow." Weiss answered earning a gawk from Ruby

"You're kidding... right?" Ruby asked earning another confused look from Esdeath

"Yo, we woulda been here sooner but a bunch of reporting pieces of-" Qrow began but was interrupted by Akame

"You tried to sneak off to another bar, don't think you can shift the blame onto me." Akame scolded causing Qrow to quickly try and repair his statement but settled for going silent

"Uncle Qrow! Settle something for us real quick; how fast is Esdeath?" Ruby asked both her and Weiss turning their attention to Qrow

"She could be faster, especially when it come to mobility, shes basically a tornado up close, but at a distance... apart from raining ice you're generally fine, unless you're in the woods or something, then you're basically fucked." Qrow answered earning a sound from Weiss that sounded like a cross between a groan of disgust and disbelieve

"I have to agree." Akame added also earning a groan from Weiss

"But shes so fast, how can you say that shes slow!?" Weiss questioned looking between the two

Qrow and Akame shared a looked then after a few seconds Qrow nodded and Akame faded from existence, Weiss blinked a few times and looked at the spot that Akame once was standing in again but she was still gone

"Where'd she go?" she finally asked looking between Qrow, Esdeath, and Ruby all of which pointed behind her, looking over her shoulder she saw Akame standing behind her a neutral expression still on her face "How'd you do that? You were there then you just... faded away."

"With speed being my primary focus in training with The Elite Seven I am far faster than the human eye, and even bullets without Aura, so it took some time for your brain to realize that I was already gone, it didn't effect Esdeath, father, or Ruby because they could see me in both spots, your eyes took a bit of time because you couldn't see me in both spots." Akame explained earning shock from Weiss

"How fast are you!?" Weiss questioned, she now firmly believed that both Esdeath and Akame were far stronger than they let on

"While I can move that fast after a few full power attacks it becomes too taxing to keep up, that's why I stopped using it when I got here, because I cant end a fight with a single strike anymore, so it feels like a pointless waste of energy now." Akame said, Weiss nodded thankful that there was some limit to Akames abilities

"Well Weiss... its safe to say Akames' speed is even faster than mine, more so than I originally expected." Ruby spoke up "And only for a limited amount of time... which isn't that long... I hope." Ruby finished earning a slow nod from Weiss

"So, Qrow I wanted to ask you; do you have any idea where I could find clips from your Vytal Festival?" Esdeath asked earning a glare from Qrow "Why would you want to know?" he asked coldly

"Well, Taiyang said that you and Raven had no restraint during your tournament, so that piqued my interest." Esdeath answered him happily

"Yeah... we didn't have restraint, almost every match our team was involved in me and Raven were forced at gun point to leave our enemies alone." Qrow said darkly, he was staring at the wall seemingly remembering the events "Until the final match, I was sent because of my semblance, it was a close match and in the end I lost. So that's all you need to know."

"I already knew all that, but I want to _see_ it." Esdeath reasoned Ruby also perked up at the though that she could see her mom fight

"Talk to Oz, or check the internet, I'm sure you could find the clips if you looked hard enough." Qrow quickly said as she stood "I'm gonna go get something to drink, if you're old enough to drink feel free to tag along." Qrow said as he began to stalk away from them, surprisingly Weiss followed after him, it was less surprising to see Akame follow them

"He seems to be quite stressed out." Esdeath commented as she watched them leave

"Of course he's stressed, we know our enemies are going to strike soon, and we cant stop it. Aren't you stressed?" Ruby answered as she placed her hand on Yangs' forehead

"Of course not, why should we stress over something that's bound to happen? We cant change whats going to happen, so why lose sleep over it." Esdeath waved off with a smile, Ruby sighed at her statement

"I know, but... try to have some empathy." Ruby said trying to keep her anger hidden

"I'll try... once you stop lying." Esdeath commented as she got up and her smile dropped, the atmosphere around her growing colder as she stood "You don't have to meet expectations, you just have to be honest. Like you want me to be." she added then walked away leaving Ruby alone with Yang

**(o)**

Qrow sat down at the bar and sighed, Weiss sat next to him and he did a double take

"Are you sure you're old enough to drink?" He asked after a few seconds

"I'm certain, all huntsman-in-training regardless of age are allowed to drink, it was a law passed in Vale three years ago after students protested for it, which is strange for me, because the drinking age in Atlas is twelve with a consenting adult." Weiss answered earning a 'huh' from Qrow

"Well, the more you know." he commented as he turned to the bartender and ordered two beers, they checked Weiss' ID and got them their drinks

"First rounds on me Schnee." Qrow said after their drinks arrived

"That's fine, as long as you don't make me pay for all the rest." Weiss snarked as she took a drink and suppressed a gag, she was used to fine wines, not beer

"Are you sure this is wise, Weiss?" Akames' voice came from behind them

"I'm sure, do you really think a bit of beer is enough to get me drunk?" Weiss questioned neutrally

"No I mean drinking with father, because once he starts... he... doesn't stop. He was able to out drink Leone, and she had Lionelle to flush her system." Akame clarified quietly, she watched Qrow for any reaction, recently she realized that Qrow had begun to drink more and more, most likely due to stress, so she didn't want to add to that

"Please, I'm at least responsible." Weiss confidently said as she took another drink, Qrow laughed at that and continued drinking

**(o)**

leaning on Akame Weiss was talking incoherent gibberish and barely able to walk

"See, 'kame! I ca' walk fine..." Weiss slurred as she stopped walking causing Akame to stumble a bit

"No, you cant. That's why I'm carrying you." Akame corrected as she slowly approached RWBYs' dorm room

"Oh... yea' that makess sense." Weiss slurred after looking at her feet, reaching the door, Akame knocked on it and waited, the sounds of arguing and fighting could be heard until the door opened by Blake who looked very irritated

"Hey Akame, Ruby and Yang are... 'fighting' right now, so I haven't had a moment of calm." Blake said as she ducked under a thrown pillow

"Then I'm sorry to add to that then." Akame apologized as Weiss started at the ceiling before lurching forward causing Akame to nearly fall over as she tried to keep them standing

"Blake... B- Blake!" Weiss quickly said trying to whisper but failed "Your ears... are so adorable, I wanna touch 'em." Weiss finished causing Blake to blush and look to Akame for answers

"People are honest when they are drunk. I doubt she meant anything lewd by it, but you should be careful just in case." Akame warned as she entered their room and caught another thrown pillow as she lowered Weiss to her bed

"Ruby, why are you two fighting?" Akame asked as she looked up at the girl hiding behind one of the ropes holding up her bed

"Yang woke up and now shes all angry I told her to calm down but she doesn't want to." Ruby answered her tone was scared but her expression looked like she was dead inside

"Stop lying Ruby, you said you are the best when it comes to tiring people out, and I'm still wide awake." Yang taunted as she grabbed another pillow to throw it at Ruby, Akame rolled her eyes and disappeared again, they all heard a gasp and watched at Akame held Yang in a sleeper hold, Yangs' eyes flashed red as she struggled to activate her semblance to get out but Akame just held until she tighter until she fell limp, she then lied her down in her bed

"She should be out for a while, but she will have a massive headache when she wakes up." Akame said as Blake and Ruby stared at her "What?" she asked looking between the two

"Its nothing but its... just kinda shocking, watching Yang get taken down so easily." Blake answered as she walked over to her bed and lied down, then grabbed her book

"You're all still inexperienced, it'll take some time but you'll all catch up sooner or later." Akame said then her eyes jumped to Ruby "Some quicker than others." turning on her heel she walked out the door and shut it

"Blake, what do-" Ruby began but was tackled by a blur of White

"AHH! WEISS GET OFF!" Ruby shouted as she fell to the ground

"NEVER!" Weiss slurred loudly after they hit the ground, Blake sighed, she was never going to get to read her book in peace.

**(o)**

Qrow walked up to his apartment and sighed, he was a little drunk but not enough to get him out quickly, placing his scroll on the lock he heard it click, he then opened the door and entered, with another sigh he walked up to the couch and lied down, staring at the ceiling he felt that something was wrong, but he could worry about that tomorrow...

**A/N Chapter 4 done, I'll be honest I'm just here waiting for... certain events to take place, I enjoy writing combat but sadly I can't gauge my abilities of that, so well see just how things go over.**


	5. Kill the Lesson

**A/N Thanks to quarantine, I have had nothing to do over the past week, so I've done nothing but write and try to learn about Warhammer lore, both of which I have made confusing amounts of progress in. enjoy this chapter even though I think its a bit... off.**

Akame sighed, people had been chasing her everywhere she goes for some reason, turning a corner she quickly entered the maintenance access hallway and shut the door behind her, after a few moments she heard footsteps pass the door and she sighed again and stared at the ground

"Don't like the fame following you?" a voice asked from in front of her, looking up she saw Mercury sitting on the ground between a mop bucket and a box of wax, his scroll in hand

"What are you talking about?" Akame asked as she turned her attention to him

"Well you did beat Pyrrha Nikos, that's got to have exploded you reputation." Mercury answered coldly earning a slow nod from Akame

"I'd much rather be forgotten, its easier to work like that." Akame commented tiredly as she sat down

"Ha, you sound like my dad." Mercury dryly said earning a slow nod from Akame

"Marcus Black, right?" Akame asked causing Mercury to do a double take Akame continued to speak at his shocked look "Just because I'm a student doesn't mean I don't do research on potential enemies." Akame added causing Mercurys' eyes to widen farther, his mind began to race as to how this happened

"The rest of your team was easier to find information on, with the exception of Cinder. That's not to say what you do in your spare time is my business. assassins, thieves, it doesn't matter, I assume you're all here to get Huntsman license or the practice needed to kill Huntsman, it also opens up a wider array of jobs to my knowledge." Akame continued, earning a slow nod from Mercury

"Yeah... are you not... I don't know... frighten by being in the same room as a killer?" Mercury carefully questioned earning a smirk from Akame as she stood

"Are you?" Akame asked causing his jaw to drop slightly "I think I'm going to use these from now on. Most people don't come in here, and those that do don't really ask questions." Akame said as she began to walk past him

"How long have you know?" Mercury asked his heart dropping as she stopped

"Sense Ruby bumped into Cinder when you four first got here." Akame answered as she stopped "I learn everything I can about everyone who befriends RWBY."

"Whats so special about her?" Mercury asked his heart sunk farther into his stomach at the though that she knew Ruby was a maiden

"No not Ruby, _RWBY_, as in the team." Akame corrected earning a 'oh' from Mercury and she continued to walk leaving him alone with his thoughts most of which consisted of 'CINDER NEEDS TO KNOW, NOW!'

**(o)**

Qrow was hanging out at the back of Esdeaths' class as she pointed to teams as asked what they learned from getting their asses kicked, some teams were exempt from answering because they weren't involved this went on for a while and Qrow quickly lost interest and began to stare at that very interesting wall over there...

"Qrow? Are you listening?" Esdeath called from the front of the room, all eyes were on him now

"Nope, listening to you is about as boring as Port." Qrow snarked earning a scoff from Esdeath

"I doubt he could run this class as efficiently as I do." Esdeath said earning a laugh from Qrow

"You're right, he was a TA when I was in Beacon and an... incident that I wasn't involved in happened and he was left in charge of the class for about two weeks, all he did was tell stories, he was way better at it back then. Anyways what did you want Ice Queen?" Qrow said earning shocked looks from everyone in the room save RWBY, they never heard anyone talk to Esdeath like that before

"Well, I figured we could pit the students against me but they all are too scared to volunteer, so I figured I'd ask the drunken waste of space at the back of the room to fight them." Esdeath explained causing a shutter to spreed across the class, again, save RWBY

"Fine, I think its got something to do with the mini skirt." Qrow said as he walked down to the railing and jumped over it

"I thought you said it wasn't intimidating." Esdeath commented as she made his Aura appear on the screen above him

"Its not, but kids tend to get sacred over nothing. Like when Yang was six and-" Qrow began with a huge grin growing on his face

"SHUT YOUR STUPID DRUNKEN MOUTH!" Yang shouted loud enough to stop everyone around her from hearing

"Cool it firecracker, your dads slippers aren't here." Qrow said as she caught her breath causing her to turn red and a few snickers to be heard around the room

"I'LL KICK YOU ASS, BIRDBRAIN!" Yang shouted her eyes turning red as she leapt out of her seat and over the railing

"Man, you and Tai need new material." Qrow commented casually as he jumped away from her strike

"I guess we're first, sorry Esdeath!" Ruby apologized as she jumped after her sister, she was quickly followed by Weiss and Blake who also apologized, Esdeath shrugged off their apologies and settled to watch the fight

**(o)**

Qrow jumped back and swung Harbinger, Yang slid under the attack and caught a kick to the face sending her rolling up next to Blake

"Careful Yang, he's far stronger than us." Blake warned as she drew Gambol Shroud

"I know, he's my uncle." Yang growled as she clenched her fists

"Could have fooled me." Blake commented as Weiss and Ruby attacked Qrow

Qrow ducked under a slash from Crescent Rose and stepped closer to Ruby grabbing Crescent Rose as he did so, Ruby growled and swung a fist at his face, Qrow blocked the strike with Harbinger and kicked his leg back sending Weiss away from them

"Kid, I know you're smarter than that, never aim for the face unless you know they wont see it coming." Qrow said as he pushed Crescent Rose away and punched her in the gut then fired Harbinger pointblank sending her into Yang

Weiss stabbed at his head, leaning out of the way he felt her slam into his back on accident, turning around he spoke "Watch where you're going, its rude to bump into someone like that." jumping back Weiss aimed Myrtenaster at him again, she was certain that her footing wasn't off. Looking between his enemies he held down Harbingers trigger, Ruby and Yang paled, Weiss glared at him intensified and she tightened her grip on Myrtenaster and Blake looked pained and her bow drooped slightly

"Lets start taking this seriously, yeah?" Qrow commented as he turned and rushed Ruby, Yang, and Blake, his act caused Weiss surprise, she prepared for him to attack her not them, Qrow swung Harbinger faster than RBY could react, hitting all of them they were sent away from each other, Qrow capitalizing on this by rushing Yang, as she stood he kicked her in the face grabbed her arm and threw her into Weiss who rushed into the attack, flipping backwards he dodged a slash from Ruby both stared the other down

"I'm not gonna hold back as much as I used to, you're too strong for that." Qrow commented, Ruby didn't respond she just tightened her grip on Crescent Rose, Qrow spun Harbinger behind him deflecting a few shots from Blake and dived backward avoiding a slash from Ruby, Qrow let out a sigh and released his killing intent causing Blake, Yang, and Weiss to freeze in place briefly, Blake tripped backward and crawled away from him, Yang stood frozen clearly reliving some kind of trauma, Weiss held her gut and dropped to the ground physically reliving her own actions

"I hate getting interrupted in the middle of a fight." Qrow growled as he turned his attention back to Ruby, she was standing firm glaring at Qrow

"I didn't know you could do that." Ruby commented watching at the black smoke faded away from her uncle along with the familiar sensation

"Give it enough time, and you will too." Qrow shot back, Both took a small step back before rushing towards each other and attacked

**(o)**

Akame exited the maintenance hallway and looked around, she recognized a few people, like Coco and Velvet who were leaving the stadium looking downtrodden by their loss, Cardin who was zoned out staring into the arena, and finally Sun, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet who were all just now entering the stands

"Hey, Akame!" Sun called out to her and waved, Akame walked up to them and was imminently met with suspicion from two of them, Neptune was not one of them, he was looking her up and down

"Hello Sun, I assume you're here to check out your competition." Akame guessed as he gestured for her to follow him, which she did

"Nah, me and the guys are just here to enjoy ourselves, why are you here?"

"I'm here to watch rounds for Ruby while shes in class, they are finally doing the other bracket so she was pretty excited." Akame answered earning an 'oh' from Sun

"I guess that you're in this bracket then, so wheres your team?" Sun hastily questioned looking around in the stands for them

"I don't have a team. I'm not participating in the tournament." Akame answered neutrally as they found a row of five seats and sat down

"Why not, I've seen you fight you'd probably get to the finals if you tried hard enough!" Sun nearly shouted in exasperation

"I have no doubt, but I would prefer that my face doesn't appear all across the world, its easier for me to work when no one knows I am." Akame answered as she leaned back in her seat

"So Akame, whats a beautiful girl like you doin' here all alone?" Neptune asked seeing his opportunity to try and hit on her, Akame looked over to him with a blank look on her face, she was very confused by his words, she was there with him, Sun, Sage, and Scarlet "'Cause if you're in the market for-" Neptune began again only to get whapped in the face by an umbrella, Akame raised an eyebrow and looked at the attacker it was a short woman, Akame recognized her eyes as Neos' because she leaned in close and when she blinked they turned from a royal purple to her normal brown and pink then back again, her hair was tied up into a bun and was a shade of dark blue instead of multicolored pink, brown, and white, her outfit was identical to one of the Atlas specialists that Akame had seen marching around from time to time

"Hello Neo, why are you here?" Akame asked neutrally, Neo tilted her head for a second then pointed at Akame "What do you need?" after a few seconds Neo shook her head with a grin then sat down in her lap and leaned back into Akame causing her to blush slightly

"Wait... where have I heard that name before?" Sun asked looking to Akame who was fighting to prevent herself from turning more red

"Don't worry about it, but she is a friend of mine." Akame hastily said earning a frown from Neo, which she couldn't see

"I don't know, you two look like more than friends." Sun said earning a bright smile from Neo, Akame blushed even more at his statement and before she could correct him Neo put her hand over her mouth and nodded at Sun

"Right... I could move, you know, so you could sit _next_ to her." Sun offered awkwardly, Neo shook her head and released Akames' mouth, Sun shrugged and turned his attention back to the team battle in front of them

**(o)**

Blake struggled to stand, Yang was holding Weiss steady, and Ruby was the only one who seemed to be holding her stance even then her arms were shaking lightly, Qrow was standing in front of all of them Harbinger in its blade form, resting on his shoulder

"Whats up guys, I know for a fact you can keep going." Qrow snarked swinging the blade off his shoulder "Especially you Yang, how many times have you gotten your ass kicked by your dad again? I think its in the triple digits now." Yangs' eyes turned red and with a shout of rage she rushed him, Qrow swung Harbinger just as she got into range, he missed as she slid under the strike but she stopped far shorter than she expected, blinking a few times she looked up at Qrow, he looked down at her with a huge grin on his face

"Fuck yo-" Yang began as Qrow quickly lowered Harbinger and fired it at her shattering her Aura

Blake and Weiss rushed Qrow who parried both of them and capitalized with a powerful slash sending both of them flying and destroyed their Auras too, again Ruby was alone

"Dammit." Ruby growled quietly to herself as she glared at Qrow as Harbinger again grew into a scythe

"Careful kid, Esdeath ain't gonna help you this time." Qrow warned as Ruby began to pace back and forth, Qrow flipped Harbinger inverting his grip on the scythe

"I'll still win. I don't need them to help me beat you." Ruby said confidently as she walked towards him dragging Crescent Rose behind her causing a screech, Qrow followed her lead with Harbinger letting it screech along the ground with a much deeper whine

"Try to keep up, old man." Ruby said as she disappeared in a flurry of rose pedals Qrow spun Harbinger behind him in a practiced motion and spun while swinging out a kick catching Ruby as she reformed he realized that she didn't have Crescent Rose she flipped over his kick and swung a punch at his jaw, taking the hit Qrow punched back sending Ruby sprawled and shattering her Aura

"Nice hit kid, but try aiming for a weaker point than the face, unless you can punch like me, Esdeath, Tai, or Yang otherwise its useless, I recommend the gut, it hurts and doesn't take much power to stun someone when you hit them there." Qrow lectured as he walked up to her and held his hand out to her

"Thanks, I probably should remember that." Ruby said taking his hand she was quickly yanked to her feet, Qrow pat her on the head and turned to the rest of her team "Yang, that temper of yours still needs work, Weiss, you need to work on physical training, Blake you need to work on your hesitation, that's gonna do far more than get just you killed." He then hopped out of the arena and began towards the door and spoke "Now then, I think that was eventful enough for me, I'm goin' for a drink, Esdeath I'll be back later so we can work that out of them." Qrow finished as he exited the room leaving the whole class stunned by how skilled he was, Esdeath was happily staring at the door, RWBY where dreading what would happen after class

**(o)**

Akame and Neo left the stadium after eight rounds, it was quite boring to say the least but at least it was over now, entering the airship Akame and Neo sat down and waited to return to Beacon

"I wont say that the tournament was fun, but I did enjoy spending time with you." Akame said after a few moments of quite between the two, Neo nodded then leaned on Akames' shoulder with a large smile on her face, Akame leaned back on her, the thought of the woman next to her kept invading her mind even when she was trying to think of something else, turning her attention to Neo intentionally she allowed her mind to be flooded with images of Neo, from just being herself to less than savory images of her, Akame blushed at the thoughts but continued to let her mind wander, feeling a tap on her shoulder she opened her eyes, they were greeted by a set of purple ones, Neo was stood in front of her and gestured for her to follow, they had landed, standing Akame felt perfectly fine, no motion sickness, quickly standing she followed Neo out of the ship. Once they exited they entered Beacons' courtyard, Neo grabbed Akames arm and forced it over her shoulder Akame didn't resist the action, she actually pulled Neo closer surprising the shorter of the two after a few seconds her surprise was changed to pleasure and she pressed her self farther into Akame as they made their way towards the classes, RWBY should be getting out soon after all. After reaching the classhall they heard a voice call to them

"AKAME! OVER HERE!" Turning They saw Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune who was waving to them

walking up to them Neo waved and Akame spoke "Hello JNPR, how have you enjoyed the tournament thus far?"

"No need to be so formal... and its been fun." Jaune said awkwardly he has had a very hard time talking to Akame, she couldn't understand why "So... whos' the lucky lady?"

"Neo." Akame answered earning a double take from Neo who smiled at Akame who didn't seem to notice

"Well Neo, I'm Jaune, that's Pyrrha, and those two are Ren, and Nora." Jaune greeted as he pointed to each of his teammates, Neo nodded then gestured to Pyrrha, then Jaune then she pointed at Nora and Ren then intertwined her fingers and raised an eyebrow

"Umm... what?" Jaune questioned looking to Akame

"She wants to know if you two know if they are dating like them." Akame translated earning an 'Oh' from Jaune and Pyrrha

"OH, No... were not... together-together, were just you know... together, but not in a weird way, just the kind of way that... you know... family would... but were not, not family, I mean." Nora hastily said blushing quite profusely, Ren was also blushing but he hid his embarrassment a bit better

"Perhaps you should be together-together." Akame said earning both of their eyes and a massive blush from Nora "A short time ago, my father told me 'time is a valuable commodity, and if you don't act you might lose the one you love the most before you could tell them.' I learned the hard way that he's right." Akame explained her tone neutral but her words earned her sad looks from everyone around her

"Akame I'm... sorry." Pyrrha apologized in a sympathetic tone Akame waved off her apology

"Don't worry about that, I've learned to not make that mistake again." Akame said her tone indiscernible from calm

"No, I mean; I'm sorry that you've had to lose someone so important to you in such an unfair way, no one should experience that." Pyrrha explained her tone unchanged

"Then I'll keep quite on the rest of my past, because your sympathy would be wasted on me." Akame added afterwards earning another saddened look from Pyrrha

"Just know that you have friends all around you." Pyrrha added with a smile

"I know, but it hasn't always been that way, and it wont always be that way." Akame said as she turned to leave, turning back she spoke again "Pyrrha, have you notice that people with cameras keep following you when you get up to Amity?"

"Quite frequently, they asked me constant questions about you, why?" Pyrrha answered earning a slow nod from Akame

"They've been hounding me. Its very irradiating to think about, and I'd rather they left me alone." Akame answered earning a sympathetic nod from Pyrrha

"I'm sorry, its my fault. With the status that I have I should have expected that you would get attacked for our match." Pyrrha apologized looking downward

"The sooner this blows over the better." Akame added as she and Neo began towards Esdeaths' classroom

**(o)**

Entering the room they were greeted by Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang attacking Esdeath and Qrow, both of who were easily deflecting blows and countering, Neo and Akame shared a look and nodded before both vanished

"Too slow, you must be faster." Esdeath said as she kicked Weiss away from her

"Swing from below kid, I know I've taught you that at least." Qrow said as he ducked under Rubys' strike and kicked her away

"Good try Blake." Esdeath said as she Yanked on Gambol Shrouds ribbon and slammed her elbow into Blakes' cheek sending her into Weiss

"Faster firecracker." Qrow said as he blocked a strike from Yang and counted with a punch of his own

"THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" Yang shouted through her hand as she held her mouth and stumbled around a bit, slowly trying to recover from Qrows' strike

"Perhaps we should have given them a handicap." Esdeath commented as she watched Weiss and Blake struggled to stand

"Maybe, but that would be coddling them." Qrow reasoned watching Ruby stand and Yang stumble and fall

"Fair... what about the other two?" Esdeath questioned as she relaxed

"Fight them too." Qrow offered just as calmly, both him and Esdeath then jumped apart as Neo and Akame attacked where they last were

"Yay..." Yang cheered as she collapsed again she was quickly joined by Weiss, Blake, and Ruby all of whom were gasping for air trying to recover as quickly as possible

"Well, looks like you two are on opposite sides of the battle lines now, this will be quite entertaining to watch." Esdeath said as she pointed her blade at Akame, who looked to Neo and nodded, Qrow rushed forward and swung at them Akame dived back while Neo rode his blade sending herself at Esdeath, Qrow and Akame locked blades and the ground beneath them shattered, Akame struggled to keep Harbinger from crushing her, the fact that it was heavy enough to slow her down was evidence enough of its weight, add in the fact that Qrow was pushing down as well, it was a recipe for failure, Kicking back Akame barely got away from the blast zone, as Harbinger shattered the ground Qrow rushed her again this time swinging upward, if he succeeded in getting her off the ground on his terms this fight was over, but if she timed it just right she should be able to kick off before that, so she prepared...

Esdeath swung at Neo who shattered following through with the strike she built up speed catching Neo behind her the strike landed and sent the shorter of the two slamming into the far wall, quickly getting to her feet Neo glared at her, Esdeath smiled, which quickly faded into a scowl as Neo became Ruby...

Qrow swung just as Akame got her footing and cursed as she vanished just as the strike was suppose to land, spinning Qrow quickly looked around and transformed Harbinger back into a blade, Akame was nowhere to be seen, quickly pressing Harbingers trigger to the right he then pulled the trigger, Harbinger fired itself into the air earning a gasp of surprise as it fell back into his hand, Akame landing in front of him holding her gut a look of shock on her face...

Neo dodged strike after strike, that was all she could do, any attempt to counterattack was greeted with a brutal counter to it, being Ruby was kind of helping, Esdeath kept freezing but not long enough for it to be effective, but she did seem to grow angrier by the second, batting away another strike Neo kicked out at Esdeath who caught the limb causing it to shatter just as Hush slammed into her jaw causing her to stumble as she stumbled though she swung with a blade of ice from her off hand shocking and hitting the shorter of the two sending her into Akame, both stumbled from the attack

Rushing forward Qrow swung at them again this time Akame drew Murasame and swung at him only for it to hit his boot and he pushed sending her off balance Neo shattered as Esdeath stabbed her, Akames' plan was for their attacks to hit each other, it failed, Qrows' strike barely missed Esdeath and Esdeaths' stab missed him, they both moved with almost perfect coordination, it was frightening to watch them work so well together...

Qrow rushed Akame again this time he jumped in the air and fired Harbinger causing him to spin, and before she knew it her backwards dodge was made ineffective due to Harbinger growing into a Scythe and catching her around the waist sending her into the far wall of the arena, right next to where Neo landed before her, With a growl Akame stood and looked around as she sheathed Murasame, she vanished, Qrow quickly looked up as he swung around him, she wasn't near him. Looking around he caught sight of her a few times when he really saw her was when he was send flying after a fiery punch, rolling to a stop he quickly caught on as to why he burned, Akame had Ember Celica and Crescent Rose in her possession now, Akame cocked the gauntlets then drew Crescent Rose, both rushed at the other mirroring each others movements with an upward slash...

Neo ducked under a strike and blocked a kick from Esdeath but was still sent away with a quiet growl Neo drew Hushs' blade and sliced at Esdeath when she got close causing the general to block causing the slash to shatter, lowering her blade she blocked the actual slash, Neo vanished afterwards, turning to Qrow and Akame she watched as Qrow moved with a rapid quickness that she couldn't follow, but his opponent was far more interesting, Akame was using Crescent Rose like it was a bō staff, and her actions were effective in a way, her grip on it was constantly moving causing it length to go from short to long in one move, but Qrow didn't seem to be effected by her use of the weapon, spinning he bowed down and spun Harbinger behind his back causing Akame to immediately go on the defensive as the rapid attacks knocked Crescent Rose from her hands just as he was about to land a heavy strike on her an umbrella hooked around Harbingers' snath and yanked his attack back, turning he spun Harbinger free and and suffered a strike from Neo, continuing the spin he turned to Akame blocking a strike from her and kicked his leg back Neo ducked under it, predicating her action Qrow dropped forcing his leg down faster then the rest of himself slamming Neo into the ground earning a surprised noise from her earning a pause from Akame which he used to stand and kick her sending her flying into the wall shattering her Aura, Neo shattered, but the sound of her Aura breaking could be heard from Akames' direction...

"Can we call it quits?" Rubys voice came earning everyone's attention, her and her team had yet to move from their spots "'Cause I don't think we can stand!" Ruby called

"Very well, You all fought rather admirably, but Akame and Neo fought far harder than you all, that is what you should strive to be like and each of us will be here to help you along the way there." Esdeath agreed as she walked over to Ruby and helped her up

"Akame? You doin' okay?" Qrow asked as she gritted her teeth suppressing a pained noise

Akame didn't answer she just stood and stripped down to her underwear, Qrow blinked a few times then realized why she did that, Qrow walked around her inspecting her for any wounds, he found a few bruises and a broken rib

"You should be fine, but I'd recommend going to the infirmary just in case the break pierces anything." Qrow said earning a nod from Akame as she redressed herself, turning to the rest of the occupants of the room RWBY were checking themselves, Esdeath was checking Ruby, and Neo was staring at Akame, her face a bright shade of red and she quickly followed Akame as she left the room, Qrow then moved to get Esdeath to stop feeling up Ruby, the weird part of her actions were that she was touching Rubys arms, abs, and legs, and nothing else

**(o)**

Akame lied down on the infirmary bed on her side avoiding lying on her broken rib as the doctor checked the severity of the break

"You'll be fine, the break seems to generally be intact so you should be fine to move without too much pain, just wait for your Aura to regenerate a little and it should fix it in a few minutes at most." the doctor said and he exited the room, Akame rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, she felt her Aura quickly begin to regenerate and the rib slowly begin to fix itself she was completely focused on that for some time until the door to the room opened and she looked to who entered, it was Neo she had her hair down and both her eyes and hair were back to normal, as was her clothing

"Why are you here Neo?" Akame asked as she looked at the clock it hadn't been that long but it was beginning to get late, Neo didn't respond with any signal she just climbed on top of Akame and looked her dead in the eyes, causing Akame to blush, Neo stayed there as if asking a single silent question...

**(o)**

RWBY walked down the hallway towards their dorm, a few people were sitting in their dorms working or talking with their doors wide open either waiting for their other members or other teams to join, as RWBY passed them the waved, or said 'hello' once they reached their dorm Ruby opened the door everyone entered, she followed after them then shut the door. If you listened closely you could hear muffled screaming and crying coming from their room, everyone who heard assumed that they were arguing

**(o)**

Opening the door to Akames clinic room Qrow was greeted by the sight of Akame and Neo completely naked, clothes strewn around the room, both in a compromising position, both sets of eyes jumped to the doorway, Qrow looked at them, they looked at him, Qrow chuckled to himself reached to the door clicked the lock into place and exited the room still chuckling to himself, Akame and Neo agreed to double check the door from that point onward. As Qrow walked away from the room his scroll vibrated, quickly pulling it from his back pocket he read out the message on a secure channel with himself, Ozpin, Glynda, Ruby, Akame, and Esdeath

[Meet me in my office, tomorrow morning, tell no one else, its time.]

Qrow understood what it meant, Glynda understood when it meant, Esdeath understood what it meant, he just hopped that Ruby and Akame would understand too, he also hoped that they wouldn't be late.

**A/N Its time to meet the next fall maiden, even then I hope you all are excited to continue this story, I know I've begun to say less and less in these but know that I am _soooo_ happy that I've made it this far, and I'm not planing on stopping here either, I want to expand on my story but I also want to branch out, but it feels weird to try that though, I'm used to the characters and rules that I have put into place, so until I reach a point that I'm comfortable with pausing at I will not stop writing.**


	6. Kill the Maiden

Qrow leaned on one of the pillars near the elevators, him and Ozpin were alone in the office listening to the endless erratic ticking of gears above them.

"So, you haven't told me who you picked yet." Qrow commented looking over to Ozpin who was staring at his desk

"Yes, I know. Everything has been hectic lately. I've barely had time to talk with anyone." Ozpin said with a yawn, he then leaned back in his chair and stared at the elevator that she would be coming up in

"So... who is it?" Qrow asked again this time more straight to the point

"Pyrrha Nikos, shes strong, kind, and caring, and since RWBY and Akame aren't choices we have to branch out to another." Ozpin answered sounding slightly peeved by Qrows insistence

"Hey, they wouldn't do much good hiding themselves away, besides Akame is a powerful fighter it would be a waste to just let her hide." Qrow defended Ozpin rolled his eyes at that

"Yes, and the last woman like you who worked for me took a small amount of my power and ran. Forgive me for being cautious." Ozpin attacked, this time Qrow rolled his eyes

"Oh please, you were pissed that she ran, imagine if Raven got maiden powers _then_ ran away? That would have made you even angrier." Qrow commented, Ozpin didn't have a rebuttal to that, mainly because it was true

**(o)**

After a few minutes of waiting the elevator arrived and Pyrrha exited

"Come in Ms. Nikos, please take a seat." Ozpin happily said and gestured to the seat in front of his desk

"Thank you professor." Pyrrha thanked and quickly sat down "This has been a... surprising few days to say the least."

"Well, I can safely say that it comes as no surprise that your team has chosen you to move onto the finals. Your performance has be irreproachable." Ozpin said, his tone conveying the praise required for his position.

"Thank you again, professor, but I doubt I could have gotten this far without my teammates." Pyrrha shifted, she clearly disliked taking compliments

"Personally I see it the other way around." Qrow added, as he rolled his eyes and looked at the elevator next to him where everyone else were waiting, just in case things went sideways, looking back at her she opened her mouth to say something but chose to close it instead

"Yes, I believe you two have already met, Qrow is a... trusted colleague of mine." Ozpin said earning a slow nod from Pyrrha

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking; why did you call me here?" Pyrrha finally asked

"Tell me, what is your favorite fairy tail?" Ozpin asked, his anxiety rising as he spoke.

"I'm... sorry, I don't understand?" Pyrrha apologized - clearly stumped by what Ozpin was asking.

"Fairy tails; stories from your childhood, surely you must remember a few of them." Ozpin clarified folding his hands in front of him.

After a few moments of pondering the question she began to answer the simple question "Well... there's; the Tale of the two Brothers, the Shallow Sea, the Girl in the Tower-"

"What about the story of the seasons?" Ozpin questioned with a grin, Pyrrha growing more confident in the subject at hand finally spoke with honest emotion

"Of course! A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accepted, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Summer, Spring, Winter, and Fall; the four maidens. My mother loves that story." Pyrrha explained, Qrow and Ozpin both already knew the story... of course, but they wanted to at least know what they were dealing with

Ozpin chuckled as she finished and spoke warmly "Would you believe me if I told you that ones been around sense I was a boy?"

Pyrrha joined his laughter "You aren't that old professor." she said warmly

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" Ozpin asked his warm tone dropping to seriousness in an instant, Pyrrha took a few seconds to follow him

"...What?" Pyrrha asked needing to hear it again

"What if I were to tell you that there were four maidens that exist in this world that can wield such tremendous power, _without_ dust." Ozpin repeated cautiously unfolding his hands and leaned back, placing one hand near his Long Memory and the other on the arm of his chair

"You mean... its like a... semblance?" Pyrrha tried to rationalize earning a small smile from Ozpin

"Like magic." Ozpin corrected with a light grin

"I... I..."

"Yep, hearing it for the first time is pretty crazy." Qrow added, as he took a drink from his flask

"I..." Pyrrha repeated again before quickly recomposing herself "Are you being serious?" she asked fear evident in her voice

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin asked his gaze becoming completely serious

"No... but... why are you telling me this?" Pyrrha asked her fear of magic becoming fear of knowledge

"We are telling you... Pyrrha Nikos..." Ozpin paused and looked to Qrow who nodded to him "We're telling you because we believe that you are next in line to receive the fall maidens powers." Ozpin finished confidently, underneath though he was panicking slightly, Qrow walked over to the other elevator and pressed the button on it then quickly moved back to where he was leaning

"What do you mean 'we'?" Pyrrha asked as the other elevator door opened revealing; Ruby, Akame, Esdeath, and Glynda

"I'm sorry were late." Akame apologized with a bow "_Someone_, thought it would be fun to press all the buttons on the way up here." Akame added her eyes darting to Ruby

"It wasn't me!" Ruby deflected playfully, Pyrrhas' look of shock faded into fear as she turned back to Ozpin

"Who are you people?" she asked now completely lost

"You know us Pyrrha." Ruby said with a chuckle she then continued speaking earning Pyrrhas' complete attention "Huntresses, General, Headmaster; we're the people you know, but our burden is heavier than most."

"Last I checked I'm a man, kid." Qrow snarked as he pushed off the wall

"That's debatable." Esdeath shot as she crossed her arms

"The _fact_ of the matter _is_ that we _need_ your help Pyrrha." Akame interrupted them, drawing Pyrrhas' attention to her

**(o)**

"Um... where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as they were all crammed into the elevator

"The vault, under the school." Ozpin answered before a hush fell over the elevator once more.

"Sorry its so cramped in here... I don't think this many people are meant to get in these things." Ruby apologized as Esdeath held her closer.

**(o)**

As they exited the elevator, Pyrrha lagged behind a bit looking around at the vault, as everyone save Akame, Glynda, and Ruby, walked onward.

"I'm sure you have many questions." Glynda commented warmly, trying to comfort Pyrrha as much as she could.

"Maybe a few..." Pyrrha commented as they hurried their pace to catch everyone else.

"I'm pretty sure hundreds, is more than a few." Ruby commented as they moved.

"So... how did you two get roped into this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, Akame came to this world for that express purpose, and Esdeath doesn't want to keep anything from her girlfriend." Ruby answered quickly earning a double take from Pyrrha.

"Now you're piling too much on her Ruby. Indoctrination's such as this require people to take in the information at their own pace. If you rush this along, she may not be as agreeable as normal." Akame instructed neutrally she then turned to Pyrrha and spoke as she walked backwards "We can tell you everything later, for now all you need to know is that things have gotten extremely dire."

"Yeah, I'm not sure if you've noticed but the worlds been getting scarier, everyone's pointing guns at each other, Grimm are growing stronger and more common, pretty soon this peace everyone's been enjoying for so long is gonna go out the window." Qrow added following Akames lead.

"You... don't mean war... right?" Pyrrha asked earning a snide scoff from Esdeath

"Sadly not between Mankind, but a war between Mankind and Grimm, and it doesn't look like its one we can win." Esdeath added earning a scoff from Qrow

"While shes right, the 'sadly' part she can shove up her ass. Esdeath here's a bit of a warmonger, but shes powerful. So we need her." Qrow growled, after he finished Esdeath tried to trip him but he kicked her foot out of his way as they all came to a stop

the sounds of a mechanical ventilator could be heard coming from a machine at the end of the hall, there was a large rectangular metal box with a glass pane on it revealing a woman with short brown hair and scaring over her left eye and across her face, Pyrrhas' eyes widened as she recognized the woman as living proof to their words

"Is... is that-" Pyrrha stuttered out as Ozpin picked up her question and answered it

"That is Amber, the current fall maiden." Ozpin answered his voice riddled with regret and sympathy

"How... is she still alive?" Pyrrha asked wondering if the woman was in pain

"We're using special tech cooked up by James and his scientist in Atlas to keep her stable." Esdeath answered as she crossed her arms "But she _is_ still dying. And there's some... unprecedented issues here."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked looking to Ruby and Akame

Ruby looked at Akame and she began to explain "When a maiden dies her power transfers to the person last in her thoughts-"

"Unless its a dude or some old hag, then it goes somewhere random, and _I_ gotta track it down." Qrow added - interrupting Akame, sounding rather embittered.

"So wont it just go to the next host then?" Pyrrha questioned looking both hopeful and dreading their answers.

"This is my special field. Tell me in combat what are you thinking about?" Esdeath asked a sadistic grin spreading on her face.

"My opponent... oh." Pyrrha answered, her eyes widening as she came to an abrupt realization.

"We got a winner." Qrow snarked as he took another drink from his flask

"I can assure you Pyrrha. That if they do get the rest of the power, it wont bode well, for anyone." Ozpin said turning to her

"But if she is so important then why hide her? Why all this secrecy and-... and..." Confused and shocked, Pyrrha exploded at the simple answer.

"It... used to be common knowledge." Glynda answered, causing Pyrrha to blink a few times as she slow processed that information "What?" was all she could get out

"How do you think legends and fairy tails start? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." Qrow explained as he took another swig from his flask

"Our group was formed to protect both Mankind and The Maidens from people who are power hungry, tyrannical, evil-, ...you get the idea." Ruby added and she smiled at Pyrrha.

"How can you smile this off? There's so much at stake... how?" Pyrrha finally asked trying to understand Ruby's mood

"Well, its not like you don't have a choice, we just believe that you're the best choice, Akame could also fill the roll but that would prevent her from performing her duty. I could also do it, but that would prevent me from following Uncle Qrow and Akame, you're our best choice because you have little to no affiliation to this brotherhood." Ruby explained, keeping a calm and neutral demeanor "I just want you to know that while this is serious, you shouldn't stress too much over it." Ruby finished with a smile "Like some people I know!" Ruby added with a glare at Qrow who shrugged it off as he took a drink.

Looking at the pods Pyrrha sighed and surrendered "I'll do it."

Everyone saved Esdeath shared looks "That's what you wanted... right?"

"It is... but... well, with her current state you wouldn't be able to inherit her powers naturally, but James believes that this machine is capable of... capturing her Aura an-" Ozpin began carefully

"Capture it, and cram it into something else..." Qrow interrupted and gestured to Pyrrha before finishing his statement "Or in your case."

"That's wrong." Pyrrha quickly said realizing the implications

"Yeah, but we don't get the luxury of right, when it comes to trying to protect everyone on the planet, we can either gamble with this, or fight a full powered maiden, and trust me kid, that's not a dance anyone here would like to have." Qrow said coolly, he then downed what was left in his flask and sighed

"While that is rather crude, he is right, as of right now we have few choices and there is no guarantee that the transfer will work, or if you will be the same person if it does, but what is sure is that before the Vytal festival is over, we will need your answer." Ozpin said as he rested a hand on her shoulder, in a subtle way to try and relieve the burden of her choice, he spoke again this time it was a warning "The person who attacked Amber has made their first move, and there is no telling when their next move will be."

**(o)**

After a few hours Pyrrha was now standing at the center of the stadium along side the rest of those who got chosen to move onto the final rounds, but her mind wasn't here, it was in the vault with the fall maiden

"NOW! For the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Ports voice shouted earning everyone's attention "Barty, would you care to explain the rules?" Oobleck perked up at the question and quickly began to speak "Its quite simple Peter, instead of the usual bracket system each match will be randomly decided before the match itself!"

"And much like any good hunt there will be zero time to prepare!" Port added earning a confused sound from Esdeath; a good hunt could last weeks, and preparation is key to having success, so she assumed he was talking about an ambush

"Yes, yes! Now lets see who our first match will be!" Oobleck interrupted possibly saving everyone from the great boredom that is Ports stories, the faces of all the combatants appeared on the screen and quickly began to shuffle themselves growing faster by the second, all Pyrrha could think is 'Please don't pick me.' so she closed her eyes and listened

"YANG XIAO-LONG FROM BEACON, AND MERCURY BLACK FROM HAVEN!" Port shouted out earning a sigh of relief from Pyrrha and she followed the line out of the arena

**(o)**

"You better not go easy on me." Yang said as she cocked her gauntlets, Mercury scoffed and spoke with his own confidence "You wish." Both studied their opponent as the platform rose into the air and when it stopped Port began to count down

"3... 2.. 1. Begin!" Yang cocked back her fist and fired a round at Mercury who quickly jumped out of the way and ran straight at her, raising her arms to block Mercury kicked her legs out from under her, with a grin she brought down both her arms onto his neck stunning him for long enough to deliver a kick of her own sending him sliding back, he quickly thought of something different, running around her Yang fired blasts at him as he ran, after the third time around Yang rolled her eyes and fired in front of herself swinging back her elbow catching Mercury and sending him out of the ring, the sound of a gun going off surprised her as Mercury landed right in front of her and began his assault, slowly retreating Yang barely fended off his attacks, they were harder and faster that anyone she'd fought before, save Qrow, Akame, and Esdeath, with a growl Yang caught his leg and ducked under it while kicking the other one out from under him, firing both his boots he flew away from her with a sigh both warriors began to pace around each other

"That was pretty good, Merc." Yang complemented through calm pants.

"I've seen better." Mercury commented, earning a scoff from Yang.

"I'll keep my doubts... unless you're talking about Esdeath, then I have no choice but to agree." Yang shot back.

After a few more quips back and forth they began again, Yang slid trying to knock Mercury off balance, Mercury jumped over the attack and fired he's boots as he did so sending Yang rolling when he landed he capitalized on her stunned state by rushing at her, Yang for the most part recovered before he got to her, reacting quickly she flipped over him and fired a couple times, ducking under the shots Mercury swung his leg at her as she fell, catching the leg, Yang's eyes turned red and her hair began to blaze to life, quickly flipping she inverted their rolls and slammed Mercury into the ground cracking it and shattering his Aura.

With sigh Yang spoke happily "Better luck next time." she then turned to walk away, Mercury slowly stood up behind her and with a sigh he went to follow her only for Yang to turn around and fire a round into his leg causing him to fall screaming in pain

**(o)**

"Do you really think its a good idea?" Akame asked, the ticking of the clock was the only sound above them, Ozpin was staring out the window and Qrow was leaning in the corner of the office

"What do you mean? Is it a good idea to tell Pyrrha or is it a good idea to push this task on her?" Qrow asked as he crossed his arms

"I mean is it a good idea to let her into this, do you really think shes prepared for the task?" Akame clarified as Ozpin spun his chair around to face them

"Whats done is already done, we cant change the choices we've already made." Ozpin said joining the conversation "But we can at least hope that Pyrrha wont lose herself to this stress. As so many before her have." Ozpin finished both guilt and tiredness in his voice

"Spring wasn't our fault, Oz." Qrow comforted but guilt was in his voice too

"Perhaps, but she was still our responsibility." Ozpin agreed as he leaned back and let out a tired sigh "I recommend you two go and get some rest, relax a bit... with the finals so close... I doubt any of us will be relaxing much afterwards." Ozpin said as he turned back to face out his window letting his mind wandering only for his thoughts to get crushed by the reality of the world

Akame and Qrow exited the office and took the elevator down to the ground floor, leaving Ozpin alone with his thoughts, fears, and responsibilities

"Perhaps... my time in the sun will come to an end." Ozpin said to himself, as he stared at The Long Memory, seconds later it began to glow a bright green

**(o)**

"You played your part well Mercury, now we just need you to lie low for awhile, once things kick off, we'll take what Ruby has, and what Amber had, and be on our way." Cinder said earning a smirk from the assassin

"Can do, I cant wait to watch then next fight. I wounder who it'll be." Mercury snarked as he went back to repairing the damage done to his leg

**(o)**

Qrow and Akame entered her dorm room for the first time in a while, surprising to Akame there was a white rectangular box sitting on her bed

"That's a gift. This time its not Esdeath... kinda." Qrow said as she walked over to it she then placed her ear on the side of it and listened for any ticking or implication that it was a bomb, finding none she pulled the lid off and blinked a few times. Inside the box was a bulky black revolver with a white floral design etched into the thick barrel, picking up the weapon she pressed a button on the side shooting out the cylinder it had six bullets inside all had a dark purple shade to them, there was a slightly larger bullet in the center, clicking it back she cocked the hammer back she held it with her thumb then pulled the most prominent trigger, feeling it give way she slowly lowered the hammer back and looked at the gun, it was her mobility now.

"What do you think?" Qrow asked watching as she pulled a black holster from the box

"I like it, but how powerful is it?" Akame asked as she took off her belt and hooked the holster onto the back of it both slightly concealing it and giving her a quick draw if needed then she put the belt back on and placed the gun into it

"Its strong enough to send me flying... and if you're looking for a name, its called Due Process... technically that's half of Due Process but... meh." Qrow said earning a nod from Akame

"The name is fitting." Akame commented as he pulled a note from the box

_'Akame, this is both a gift from me, and a gift from the Atlas military, while I don't know you well nor would I pretend to, I would like you to know that the treatment you suffered from Esdeath is nothing like what I would expect from one of my generals, that is part of my apology the other part is this; Due Process the legal term used to describe the fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement, that is the name of this weapon, once you raised a blade to cut out the corruption of your home, now I hope you'll raise this gun in the protection of your new one. -Reichsmarschall James Ironwood'_

"Well, at least he was able to get something like this out." Qrow commented after he finished reading it over her shoulder "That man is too tired half the time. I may give him crap, but James is a good guy." Akame nodded as she folded the letter and put it on her desk

"HEY LET GO!" Yangs' voice shouted from the hall, both quickly jumped into action and ran out, exiting the room both caught sight of Esdeath shoving Yang into her dorm

"Yo, gotta take care of this real quick." Esdeath commented as she moved to step into the room

"What the hell are you doing?" Qrow questioned with a growl as he quickly advanced on her

"I have to talk to her about her actions during the tournament." Esdeath answered glaring at him "No need to worry, talk to the rest of RWBY if you want to know more. They are down stairs." Esdeath finished as she entered the room and slammed the door behind her, Qrow and Akame shared a look then moved to find team RWBY

**(o)**

"Esdeath please you have to believe me! I didn't do-" Yang quickly said as she crawled back away from Esdeath who advanced on her quickly, hitting the wall Yang raised her arms to protect herself

"Stop cowering!" Esdeath said causing Yang to blink a few times and turn her gaze to Esdeath, the smile on her face was sadistic but it was also filled with pride

"What?.. what do you mean?" Yang asked her fear lowering quickly

"You attacked that defenseless boy, we was weak and at your mercy and you did the right thing. he is weak and you are strong, what you did was something that the weak perceive as monstrous, but I believe its a part of your nature that must be grown. I am proud of you Yang." Esdeath quickly explained her tone one of pride

"But I attacked a person in cold blood, I-" Yang spoke her voice hanging with guilt

"It felt good didn't it?" Esdeath asked as she sat down next to Yang, she knew the kind of person Yang was, she had many in her army in the empire

"NO! I didn't! he... he didn't-" Yang again tried to rationalize

"You wanted to punish him for trying something the weak should obviously never do." Esdeath said watching Yang practically fall apart "You get that from your mother, one thing that I'll admit about her is that she is capable of being strong, like myself or Qrow but she chose to be weak, You are now presented with the same choice, will you be like your mother and succumb to your weakness, or will you learn from me, and never be treated like a dog again?" Esdeath interrupted causing Yang to growl and stare at the ground, Esdeath rapped her arm around Yang and whispered to her "Your mothers weakness comes from her desire to appease those around her, you have no such weakness. I could mold you into a weapon that can destroy any that stands in your way. All you have to do, is agree to my terms, and keep it secret from your team, until the time is right."

"I... don't want to be like you." Yang growled looking at anything but Esdeath, Esdeath smiled, Yang was slowly seeing the appeal of Esdeaths' way of thinking, she just needs one final push, but it cant come from her... it has to be from someone else.

**A/N- I wrote this one, and the last one in... like... three days, so they might feel a little weird, cause I cant sleep properly anymore... yay for insomnia~! That being said I've had so much free time and this has become one of the few things that I find fun anymore. **

**B^) - From the Editor**


	7. Kill the Rank

**A/N I'm releasing this one on a Wednesday because I don't know how it will be received or if people will enjoy it, plus I kinda jumped off a bit of a deep end here, and I want to know what you all think of this.**

Qrow leaned back on the side of Weiss' bed, Ruby and Yang were playing one of their fighting games, and Akame was working on Due Process, Yang was preoccupied with something it was easy to tell, because she was losing to Ruby quite badly

"You doin' okay firecracker?" Qrow asked after a few moments of watching her lose

"Yeah... I'm just..." Yang struggled to say clearly thinking of something else

"Does it have something to do with that kid you brutalized?" Qrow shot earning him a glare from everyone else in the room "What? It's true, you're either lying about what you saw or you're crazy." Qrow snarked dryly

"That's not the point." Akame said turning to him "The point is, Yang has had a hard time coming to terms with mortally wounding people, and now the whole public sees her as a threat, add on the stress of the tournament and Esdeath, of course that wasn't the right thing to say." Akame explained coldly causing Qrow to slowly nod

"I guess... sorry kid, just, when I saw that video all I could see was Raven." Qrow apologized as he quickly looked away from Akame who turned back to her gun

"It's okay... do you mind... telling us a little about her?" Yang hesitantly asked, she heard a clatter from behind her which she could assume was Akame dropping something but she didn't draw attention to it

"Raven is..." Qrow began but settled for a sigh, he then tried again "Raven has a particular way of looking at the world that our resident general shares. Shes dangerous too, I know you've been looking for her whenever there's bandit activity near Vale, and I also know that they've been making moves on southern Anima recently, I haven't talked with Raven since we tried to kill Esdeath, but I got a pretty good idea where they are set up, after the tournament ends, why don't you look into making your way over there, Raven may be dangerous, but you're tough enough to make her think twice." Qrow said earning a look of shock from Yang and Ruby one of whom paused the game.

"But what about team RWBY?" Ruby asked looking to Qrow who raised an eyebrow

"If things go the way I think they will, then you won't have to worry too much about schooling." Qrow said with a strong air of cynicism, bringing down the mood of the room.

"Well there is always the off chance that things won't go badly." Ruby offered with a sigh, clearly she didn't believe her own words.

"Fifty bucks." Qrow said earning a raised eyebrow from Ruby.

"One hundred." Ruby countered earning a quick chuckle from Qrow.

"Deal." Qrow agreed and they shook on it.

"Ruby don't bet with Qrow." Yang warned, turning to her sister.

"Too late, now all I need to do is kill everyone here for the Vytal festival, and I get two hundred bucks, its a win win." Ruby rationalized happily, they couldn't tell if she was kidding or not so Yang and Qrow shared a look.

"You should run that one past Oz first." Qrow commented earning a pout from Ruby - that caused Yang to chuckle.

"Fine, I won't do it, but I am gonna work harder, to try and find the enemy." Ruby confidently said as she and Yang turned their attention back to their game

"Akame hows that going?" Qrow asked turning his attention to her

"Its going good, I wanted to ask though, can I use gravity bullets offensively?" Akame asked as she looked over her gun

"Yeah but-" Qrow began but was interrupted by Yang

"Fire works way better for offense." Yang said as she began to focus on the game more

"Due Process, has a little special something for that. The bullets it uses are special, they have two firing directions, front and back; front, fires the bullet backwards sending you in the opposite direction you're aiming. And back, fires the round at the enemy." Qrow said glaring at Yang for interrupting him

"That's so cool!" Ruby happily gushed as she lost to Yang, she then moved over to Akame who was already holding Due Process out to her, Ruby looked at every inch of the weapon, she couldn't think of a more beautiful design for the weapon, the black and white worked perfectly to accent the floral pattern

"Does it have any melee form?" Ruby asked looking to Akame who shrugged and looked at Qrow.

"Yeah it does." Qrow said as he stood and walked over to them and took it, he then flipped it and held it by the barrel, Yang chuckled at that, Akame nodded slowly recognizing it as a valid use in combat when she ran out of ammo or Murasame was out of reach, Ruby on the other hand looked offended

"How could you use something so pretty in such a crude way?!" Ruby asked clearly disgusted by the though.

"Ruby, you gotta understand that when all other options are exhausted this is the best she'll have." Qrow explained earning another pout from Ruby

"Yeah... I know... but... it's still cruel. It deserves better then to be swung around like a bat." Ruby said as she finished speaking her scroll beeped she drew it and read what was written on it "Oh, Professor Ozpin wants to meet with me... what's that about?" Ruby asked looking to Qrow who shrugged.

"No clue, that's your meeting, I'm gonna go into the city, do some looking into the underground." Qrow said as he pulled open the dorm room door and held it for Ruby who exited the room with a quick nod to Akame he followed Ruby out of the room

"I'm going to meet up with Esdeath, she wants to add onto my training regiment so... you know... that sucks." Yang said with a sigh, as she stood and began to the door "Wanna come Akame?"

"No, I have no love for Esdeath and no desire to spend more time than needed near her." Akame answered without emotion "Once you're done I'll be in the library. Blake is there right now, so I figured I'd spend some time with her." Akame waved off as she followed after Yang out of the room as she put Due Process on her belt

**(o)**

Ruby walked up to the elevator and stared at it, with a sigh she entered it and pressed the highest button on the panel near the door, after the door closed she felt it shift and begin to move upward. Over the past few days Ruby was finding it harder and harder to keep that stupid charade going, at this point it just made her tired, placing her hands over her eyes she growled, it was so angering hearing everyone treat her like the child they remember but she knew that they were only doing it because she started it, they had to already know that she had changed, there was no way they couldn't... Ruby quieted her thoughts at she felt the elevator stop.

"Come in." Ozpins' voice came from the other side of the door, and it opened, entering the office Ruby let out a quiet sigh

" , I was hoping we could talk." Ozpin said as he turned from staring out the window to her, he had that annoying smile on his face

"Whats up professor?" Ruby asked with a smile causing Ozpins' to widen much to her fury

"Well, I wanted to make sure you were doing alright now that you're no longer under the effects of Esdeaths' semblance." Ozpin answered as he gestured at the chair across from him, Ruby wanted to yell at him, it had been almost three weeks and now he wanted to make sure she was okay

"I'm doin' just fine Professor. No problems at all!" Ruby answered cheerfully as she sat down, Ozpins' smile dropped completely and he raised an eyebrow, he didn't say anything but Ruby knew that he easily saw straight through all her lies

"Okay, fine! I am not okay! I'm angry! And I'm scared! What more do you want!?" Ruby snapped "I don't know who I am anymore! Am I Esdeath!? Or am I Ruby!? Both!? I see my friends get hurt and I feel nothing! I seem myself get hurt and its because I'm weak! I watch my enemies get hurt and I want to laugh! I-" Rubys' tirade ended when Ozpin raised his hand and somehow stopped her from speaking, it was like she didn't want to anymore

"I understand completely, you're scared and confused by what is going on so you thought the best course of action was to keep it to yourself, yes?" Ozpin asked without emotion earning a slow nod from Ruby

"I chose the same course as you, and let me tell you; from experience, it doesn't lead anywhere good, it just ends with you rapped up in a web of lies, and those around you enraged." Ozpin said as he folded his hands in front of him "I know, you don't want anyone worrying about you. But the way you are going right now will do nothing but make them worry more."

"But if I tell them, then... they might go after Esdeath again." Ruby finally said the first time she had been honest in almost three weeks

"I can assure you that they wont. While your situation is indeed concerning, Qrow and Akame have both been strictly ordered to not engage Esdeath, unless she does something that contradicts the headmasters orders." Ozpin reassured calmly earning a look from Ruby that conveyed her disbelief

"I feel like that wont stop them." Ruby commented coldly

"Well that may be true, we must have hope. Humanity is a wonderful species, they are moved in such fascinating ways; revenge, hope, love, all push people to act in strange ways, and all can drive people to commit themselves to lost causes, and at the same time, change those lost causes into the building blocks required to reach newer and greater heights." Ozpin said confidently nearing a slow nod from Ruby

"I... guess... I should have faith in them they are my family after all." Ruby agreed, slowly growing more hopefully as her mind wandered, she quickly convinced herself to tell them all, about her changes... soon...

"Please, ... Ruby, have faith in people. They will always surprise you in more ways than you can imagine." Ozpin said the smile slowly returning to his face "Now then, I believe that its time almost time for lunch." Ozpin said earning a shrug from Ruby

"I'll... tell them, soon... at the very least." Ruby said as she stood

"Be careful not to waste time, its a valuable commodity that many seem to forget is so precious, and once its lost it can never be regained." Ozpin warned somberly, Ruby nodded and entered the elevator, after doing so she reached into her ammo belt and pulled out a bottle filled with blood, and stared at it for a long time having a debate with herself in her head

**(o)**

Yang entered the arena where Esdeath was waiting, walking up to her, Esdeath drew her blade and pointed it at Yang who activated her gauntlets and semblance, fire and ice clashed with a loud screech as the 'training' begun

**(o)**

Akame sat down across from Blake who looked up from her book and smiled, Akame smiled back and opened the book in front of her. After reading for what felt like a few hours a voice broke both from their enjoyment "Akame, Blake." looking up she caught sight of Winter

"Hello Winter, whats wrong?" Akame asked as she closed her book and turned her attention to Winter

"General Esdeath has called a meeting, with you and the rest of team RWBY." Winter answered causing both Akame and Blake to share a look

"Lets get moving then." Akame said looking back to Winter, the three woman made their way to Esdeaths' classroom which is where she spent a lot of her time now. Akame couldn't help but wonder why Esdeath would call a meeting now of all times, couldn't it have been called before now, or later? Her questions would have to wait until they reached her

**(o)**

Qrow stalked past bar after bar, he wasn't heading somewhere to drink as tempting at that was, he was looking for information and the best place he could think of was the Shadowlight den, reaching the rundown looking building Qrow pulled the cellar door open and walked down into the bar but it was pitch black, he could tell no one was there, drawing his scroll he turned the flashlight on and looked around, it looked like any other abandoned cellar in the district but he was certain that he went into the right place, quickly exiting the now abandoned bar Qrow ran as quickly as he could towards Simons' house one of the few people he kept tabs on. Climbing up the side of the building he climbed onto the fire escape and opened the window into Simons' apartment

"Simon?" Qrow called out as he walked deeper into the rundown apartment, pot and porn were scattered around the place, as well as empty bottles for various substances, Qrow entered the kitchen and found it empty of everything including food. Entering the bedroom Qrow found it empty too of clothes and shoes as he made his way towards the fire escape again he heard a creak it was ignored until he collapsed to the ground as one of the floorboards under him broke, with a growl Qrow yanked his foot free and looked into the hole he made, he could see a folded piece of paper, reaching down he grabbed it he unfolded it and began to read

_{Qrow, I know for a fact that you'll find this. My business is so easy for you to find after all. Now then, if you need me, I'm moving my business to Vacuo if you're ever in Shaded Sand, look me up, first rounds on me. P.S. You wont find anyone else in the Vale underground, the new head honcho said that everything stops until after their done with whatever it is they're doing. Seeing how that puts a damper on earnings, everyone left._}

Qrow sighed and put the paper in his coat, then exited the abandoned building and transformed he began his quick flight back to Beacon

**(o)**

Entering the training grounds Akame saw Yang lying on the ground breathing heavily and covered in sweat, Ruby was standing next to Esdeath, and Weiss was sitting next to Yang

"Whats going on?" Akame asked as she checked on Yang, she was extremely tired and in shock

"Well, I _finally_ got approval from James to transfer you all to Advanced Operations." Esdeath answered happily "Your promotions will be changed slightly to complement your new status as well as new insignia, uniforms, and authority." She added as she walked over to her desk which had a medium sides box on it, and a large box next to the desk itself, everyone but Weiss and Winter looked confused, Weiss and Winter were shocked

"So what does that mean?" Akame asked looking to Esdeath

"It means that, you all out rank everyone in the military, save the generals, and Reichsmarschall." Esdeath answered nonchalantly earning a noise from Weiss and Winter

"Its far more than just that!" Weiss shouted earning a shocked look from Winter and a raised eyebrow from Esdeath, Winter wasn't planing on saying anything "The only people who are currently serving in Advanced Operations are the Ace Ops! After the..." Weiss began but quickly stopped herself from speaking, shame flashed on both her and Winters faces

"How do you have such sway over Reichsmarschall Ironwood?" Akame asked not noticing the look the two gave, Esdeath scoffed and answered

"Humans are easy to influence, especially when you have something they need, James is no different, he wants to ensure that regardless of which seat on the council I get I'll support his decisions, which makes my job significantly easier, but should I get the position of Reichsmarschall I'll have much more fun reorganizing our military into something less useless." Esdeath explained casually changed from sour to sweet in a split seconds "Anyways your new ranks are as follows from highest rank to lowest. Akame; Standartenführer, Ruby; Sturmbannführer, Yang; Rottenführer, Weiss; Sturmfrau, Blake; Oberschütze. There are obviously sections of your ranks empty but you five can expand your ranks with whoever you see fit or you can keep it as you five."

"Those all sounded the same to me." Yang said as she finally caught her breath

"I'm in the same boat as you." Blake agreed looking completely confused

"HOW DOES YANG OUT RANK ME!?" Weiss shouted her attention now turning to Esdeath

"Because Yang, has shown determination, strength, and above all else, extreme potential." Esdeath answered with a prideful look at Yang "That and she got me into the yellow today and I told her if she could manage it I'd promote her." Esdeath added casually, that earned looks of shock from her whole team and Winter

**(\\_/)**

_Yang rolled back then dived out of the way of a spear of ice, quickly sprinting as quickly as she could, but she had to duck and dive every step of the way_

"_Come on Yang! I know you're stronger than this!" Esdeath shouted as she summoned more spears of ice, Yang growled as she activated her semblance and ran straight at Esdeath, Esdeath snapped her fingers and launched spears of ice in waves, Yang rushed through the blades and swung her fist at Esdeath who caught the strike easily_

"_You know you're not str-" Esdeath began but suffered a strike to her gut, Esdeaths' look changed from calm to surprise for an instant, Esdeath then grabbed Yang by the throat and lifted her off the ground and just as quickly slammed her into the ground causing it to shatter, Yang gasped for air as she grabbed Esdeaths' arm then activated her semblance again, swinging her leg out she caught Esdeath in the side sending her into the wall, quickly standing Yang caught a large spear of ice and threw it back at Esdeath who cleaved it in half only to suffer a knee from Yang which send her rolling back, Yang pressed the attack confident that she could win, that was very short lived_

"_You've impressed me today Yang, now then, lets see if you are anything like Qrow." Esdeath calmly said as she stood **"Mahapadma." **was the only word to leave Esdeaths' mouth and in that instant Yang felt nothing but pain, and not a simple pain from getting hit, it was like she got hit by two trains at once then had a whole mountain dropped on her, the only thing she could do was make a small noise of pain as she slammed into the ground_

"_It appears not, too bad, I was enjoying that fight." Esdeath said as she walked over to Yang who was gasping trying to get the pain to stop "That does seem to be quite the issue. Oh well nothing you can do about it now, just lie there and wait for the pain to subside." Esdeath said watching as Yang rolled around in pain, trying to get it to stop "Or roll, that works too." Esdeath added as she heard the door behind them open and Winter entered_

"_You called general?" Winter asked as she waited for orders_

**(o)**

"So I feel Yang has more than earned that rank." Esdeath finished earning a sigh of defeat from Weiss

"Does this mean that Weiss has to call me boss now?" Yang asked earning a scoff from Weiss

"If you want her to." Esdeath answered earning a very quick backpedal from Weiss

"You're kidding right?" Weiss asked earning a raised eyebrow from Esdeath "Don't give me that! Please tell me I don't have to call her boss!"

"That falls on Akame to decide." Esdeath said turning to said person, Akame looked at her then Weiss who looked frightened then to Yang who was nodding 'yes'

"Last I checked Yang isn't Najenda, so no you don't have to call her boss." Akame said earning a cheer from Weiss and a groan from Yang, Esdeath scoffed at her words

"I may respect Najenda as a general but to hold such a sentiment is stupid." Esdeath said coldly as she crossed her arms and glared at Akame

"I don't, but Qrow was willing to call her boss in a casual sense, that speaks volumes for how deserving she is for that title even without her here." Akame shot glaring back at her

"Ah yes, the cripple being a leader. How very sad." Esdeath snarked coldly

"And yet said cripple landed a good hit on you before the end." Akame shot matching her cold words Esdeath opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Ruby

"GUYS! STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE BLAKE A HEART ATTACK!" Ruby shouted at them, both turned their attention to her and quickly realized they were giving off some killing intent, Blake looked like a statue

"Sorry, it seems that old tensions die rather hard." Esdeath said recomposing herself, Akame didn't say anything she just bowed her head in Blakes' direction, after a few seconds Blake greeted it in kind

"General, you have to see your parents off." Winters voice came earning Esdeaths' attention

"Right, can you handle giving them their promotions?" Esdeath asked her voice gaining a professionalism that seemed natural for her, Winter nodded and Esdeath left the room

"Alright, lets get this over with, I know you all aren't really big on ceremony so I'll just hand out your insignia and uniforms." Winter said as she walked over to the box that was on Esdeaths' desk

"Wait, doesn't this mean we all out rank you?" Yang asked earning a sigh from Winter

"Don't tell Qrow, he'd never let me live it down." Winter said confirming Yangs' question

"No promises." Ruby said as she walked up to Winter who held out her insignia and uniform to her, next was Yang then Weiss then Blake and finally Akame "Regardless of how I feel about you all reaching such ranks in such a short period of time, I request you carry them with pride and professionalism."

"There is little pride in working for Esdeath." Akame said looking to Winter who glared at her "But because you are Weisss' family, I will." Akame finished

**(o)**

"The whole network?!" Ozpin questioned for the first time in a long time his calm demeanor vanished as he slammed his fist onto his desk

"Yeah, no one anywhere is making any moves." Qrow answered leaning on Ozpins' desk

"How? What could have prompted them to fall silent?" Ozpin asked slowly recovering his calm look

"Well... Roman used to talk about a fail safe plan he had in place if he ever got properly nabbed." Qrow said earning a slow nod from Ozpin "Go to him, ask what the plan was and if it fits into this... event." Ozpin ordered, Qrow nodded and entered the elevator

"This is bad." Ozpin said after Qrow was out of ear shot

**(o)**

Esdeath sighed, her parents were going to be leaving and she just had to see them off, didn't she? Oh well no reason to get upset, just say goodbye and its back to business as usual, walking up to the airdock that they were waiting at, she saw her mother and father waiting walking up to them her mother spoke first

"You're late." she said coldly

"Yes, I had other business to attend to before I came here." Esdeath waved off "You were suppose to leave ten minutes ago. What stopped you?" Esdeath asked looking between the two

"We didn't want to leave before saying goodbye to our daughter." Eisa said calmly gesturing between herself and Esdeath

"You may have birthed me but that doesn't make me your child. I learned very little from you apart from how to use people." Esdeath coldly commented earning a sigh from Eisa

"I want you to at least know that we love you." Eisa said, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling from Esdeaths' words but failed

"I'm sure you do, but the feeling is less than mutual." Esdeath said coldly as she turned away from them "Have a safe trip." were Esdeaths' last words as she walked away leaving the two alone ignoring her mothers calls for her to stop

**(o)**

Qrow exited the elevator and began to search for Esdeath, he eventually found her sitting on a bench under a tree, he was rather confused because she seem... extremely angry

"You doing okay Ice Queen?" Qrow asked as he sat down next to her, he really didn't care, but social convention demands that he say something

"Do you have parents?" Esdeath asked neutrally she was just staring at the ground

"I _had_ parents." Qrow said neutrally trying to hide the regrets he had about... that

"What happened?" Esdeath asked, her gaze not moving from the ground and her tone unchanged

"They died." Qrow answered coldly as he leaned back and took a drink from his flask

"How?" Esdeath asked again, now she was starting to get on his nerves

"It doesn't matter, I didn't come here for you anyways. I need to talk to Roman." Qrow coldly said earning a nod from Esdeath.

"Okay, so what happened to your parents?" Esdeath questioned again, this time she looked him dead in the eyes "If it doesn't matter then why is it so hard for you to tell me?" Qrow stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking his tone was completely blank

"Me and Raven... killed them. The sibling rivalry we had was so strong because of them so we agreed that we'd kill them to end it, after they died me and Raven were inseparable, no one could even come close to being as powerful as us when we worked together, that's why we were sent to Beacon in the first place. I figured it would stay like that for the rest of our lives... but then Summer..." Qrow answer fell short, and hes settled for taking another drink from his flask that lasted far longer than his normal ones

"Well... I can safely say you two are worse than me." Esdeath finally said shock was in her voice, it was vague but it was there

"Yeah..." Qrow said without emotion, as he stared at nothing, Esdeath reached into her coat, pulled out her scroll and quickly typed something on it

"There, I've sent a message to the guards, they wont bother you." Esdeath said that caused Qrow to stand "But tell me; just how much do you owe Ozpin?"

"I gave him my life, because he gave me somewhere to belong." Qrow answered as he began to walk away

"Just because you belong, doesn't mean you're trusted." Esdeath called after him, Qrow didn't stop walking, he just wanted to get this done than get a _lot_ of drinks

**(o)**

Ruby swung at Akame who jumped over the strike and kicked off Rubys' follow up strike sending her in between Yang and Blake, Blake swung both her blades at Akames' legs at the same time Yang swung at her jaw, Akame jumped just high enough to dodge both strikes and kicking out her leg sending Blake away from her and Yang, Yang cocked her arm back and swung at Akame who leaned out of the way and kicked off in the same direction, dodging the glyph that Weiss summoned to launch her and Yang in the air, sprinting at Weiss Akame stopped short avoiding a downward strike from Ruby, kicking off of Crescent Rose Akame rolled under Gambol Shroud and grabbed the ribbon quickly redirecting it causing it to rap around Ruby, yanking on the ribbon Ruby stumbled into a kick from Akame, after kicking Ruby Akame raised Murasame and blocked a strike from Weiss, rolling forward she swung her leg tripping Yang as she attempted to rush her, diving away from the three, Akame looked over her shoulder just in time to duck under a strike from Blakes' sheath and punch her in the chin discombobulating the girl flipping Blake over her shoulder sending her flying into Yang who dropped to the ground not expecting the weight, quickly running away Akame avoided fighting them all at once, as she drew Weiss and Ruby away with her, ducking under Crescent Rose she slammed Murasames' kashira into Rubys gut and kicked her away from Crescent Rose, grabbing the weapon Akame spun and hit Weiss with it sending her away and shattering her Aura

"Dammit." Ruby sighed, as she drew Muranohi and rushed Akame

Akame threw Crescent Rose to the ground as she swung at Ruby, Ruby blocked the strike and passed it over her as she swung a fist at Akames' face, ducking under the strike Akame blocked the follow up kick which forced her to roll away quickly raising Murasame again she began to block every strike she could from Yang who decided to join in, Yang growled as she grabbed at Akame but only succeeded at wrapping her fingers around Murasames' blade which quickly shattered her Aura, diving away from Yang, Akame looked around; Ruby was rushing her and Blake was nowhere to be seen, Blocking Ruby's strike, Akame dived back and planted her feet on the wall, kicking off she tried to slash Ruby but the attack was blocked and she rolled away giving herself more space to fight, Akame began to swing at Ruby who rushed her Muranohi in a defensive position, Akames' strike never landed though, she felt something wrap around her wrist and yank her into the air, kicking off of Ruby, she avoided the strike she was now preparing, quickly dropping Murasame into her other hand, Akame sheathed it and drew Due Process and for the first time fired it below her the recoil was very powerful, it sent her flying into the air, Landing roughly on the ceiling she heard a gasp of surprise from Blake who was on the arena light below her she had gotten pulled up from the force of Akames' sudden movement, Kicking off the roof she now used her main hand to draw Murasame and slash Blake breaking her Aura, both landing in the arena, Ruby looked at all her downed teammates and prepared herself to keep going

"You know, I should be less surprised by this turn of events. General Esdeath did say that Akame was dangerous." Winters' voice came from the stands, Ruby and Akame ignored her in favor for continuing to fight, locking blades, Ruby was quickly pushed onto the back foot but Akame seemed distracted by something, dropping to the ground Ruby kicked Akames' legs out from under her and swung at her neck, Akame took the hit and rolled away from Ruby and slashed upward cutting rose petals, drawing Due Process Akame looked around trying to track Ruby, Ruby had a more straightforward plan in mind, slammed into Akame and carried into the air the blur of black and red rose petals began to violently lurch around slamming into the walls and ceiling after a few seconds of that a loud crack of a gun going off could be heard, Ruby and Akame slammed into opposite sides of the arena both quickly looked up at their Aura levels. Akame was at 37% and Ruby was at 12%

"Akame wins." Winter said as she entered the arena, WBY all groaned as they sat up from their spots

"Are we ever going to be able to beat you?" Yang asked as she sat up

"Eventually, Ruby did land a fatal hit on me. Without Aura I would have died." Akame said as she helped Ruby stand

"I will say, I am quite proud of you Weiss, you have grown far stronger over the past few weeks than I probably did in my entire time at Atlas academy." Winter said as she pulled Weiss up to a standing position

"Thank you, Winter." Weiss thanked as she moved to help Blake stand

"Winter." Akame said her voice carrying the authority of her rank, her call earned both Weiss and Winters' attention

"Yes, Standartenführer?" Winter asked her tone becoming very professional and she snapped into attention

"I give you the next two days free leave." Akame said earning a blink of surprise from Winter "You haven't had much time to spend with your sister, you two should get the chance to spend time together, before the end of the Vytal festival tournament." Akame explained earning a nod from Winter, but Akame seemed to be distracted still as she turned and began to walk away

"Thank you, Akame." Weiss said, she was genuinely grateful for the chance to spend time with Winter in a less than professional capacity, Akame ignored her as she exited the room, her memories haunted by her sister.

**A/N Things in the story might seem a bit off, or maybe not, I don't know, but I wrote chapters 5, 6, and 7 in basically a week so you know I might not be in the best state of mind right now.**


	8. Kill the Calm

Weiss walked up to the cafe that Winter said she would be waiting at, they could finally have some time to themselves, upon arriving Weiss saw Winter quite quickly give her attire hadn't changed at all, she was still wearing her uniform

"Winter!" Weiss called earning a smile from her sister, as she quickly moved over to her and sat down

"Weiss, its good to see you, how are you this morning?" Winter asked her tone still as professional as ever

"I've been good, Ruby... Ruby had a lot to say, to us... it seems that Esdeath still has a lasting effect on her." Weiss explained earning a slow nod from Winter

"Yes, the generals' semblance does that to people, though when I was under its effects I wasn't nearly as effected as Ruby." Winter said earning a raised eyebrow from Weiss

"She used it on you? What happened?" Weiss asked now completely focusing on her sister

"It was when I was first transferred from Reichsmarschall Ironwoods' fleet to General Esdeaths', I was transferred to her fleet to learn about leadership and her tactics, I'm sure I've already told you that. Anyways, General Esdeath was quite taken with me at first, much like Ruby, but I didn't requite her feelings, so she removed her semblance."

"The general was-"

"Taken with me yes, she was quite adamant to lie with me, but I put an end to that before it got too far." Winter interrupted earning a slow nod from Weiss

"So whats this I heard about you and Qrow?" Weiss quickly asked changing the subject and causing Winter to turn very red

"I have... no idea what you're talking about." Winter tried to cover up obviously failing

"He said and I quote 'Shes the one who came begging to me.'-" Weiss began but stopped short when Winter covered her mouth

"I. Did not. Go. To him. For _anything_." Winter growled her face almost completely red after she finished speaking she released Weiss

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. He went to you." Weiss agreed earning a sigh of frustration from Winter

"I swear, that man is so-"

"But I will assume you begged for it." Weiss shot causing Winter to redden again and began to glare at Weiss who smiled at her "Akame has taught me a lot about assaulting peoples personality, it seems that anything involving vulgar and personal information is easy wind ups for you and me. Yang is threats against her family, I haven't found anything for Akame, Ruby, Blake, Esdeath, and Qrow though, so that's what I've been trying to figure out for a while now." Weiss explained earning a slow nod from her sister

"How did you meet Akame anyways? I have yet to ask you." Winter asked as a waiter brought them coffee which they started to alter to their liking

"I met her on the way to Beacon, I may have been... a bit of an ass but that was worked out with time." Weiss answered vaguely earning a nod from Winter

**(o)**

Qrow wasn't having the best of days right now, Esdeath had been training with Yang everyday and the next match of the finals would be soon, sense Yangs' action during the tournament most people are now on edge and Mountain Glenn has been identified as a black zone, in other words no human life is to go anywhere near the hive, unless its top ranking huntsmen in a group.

"Dammit..." Qrow growled, they now had no leads, Romans' fall back plan wasn't similar to what was happening in Vale either, his plan was to cause as much chaos as possible and escape, but right now there was no criminal activity

"Qrow?" Glyndas voice came from behind him, looking from Mountain Glenn Qrow turned to her

"Whats up?" Qrow asked as she walked up next to him

"I can see you're stressing about everything that's going on. I want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to vent." Glynda said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, Qrow sighed again

"I don't think there is enough time in the day to talk about my problems." Qrow snarked earning a sigh from Glynda

"While that may be true I meant your current problems, like being a role model for Akame, Ruby, and Yang." Glynda specified earning a confused look from Qrow

"I have no idea what you're talking about, those three are all their own people, and I'm not a role model for any of them." Qrow said, clearly thinking what she had said was stupid, Glynda rolled her eyes at that and spoke

"Are you kidding me? Ruby learned to fight from you, she dresses like her mother and has that same tactical genius." Glynda said and began counting off her fingers "Yang, has your confident and straightforward approach, while that might come from her mother, you did nothing to stop her from picking that up." Glynda added "And Akame, She looks up to you in a way that I don't even understand, clearly you've never seen it, but she looking at you like you look at Ozpin, you gave her everything she has now." Glynda finished "So yeah, I gotta say; I'm pretty sure you're their role model."

"I wouldn't say that." Qrow defected clearly looking ashamed "They built their own paths to get where they are, I just, watched."

"Pfft tell that to Akame. I've heard a few students insult you near her, I'm surprised that none of them died from shock." Glynda shot earning a sigh from Qrow

"As long as shes not killing anyone, we're good." Qrow said after a few moments of thought, he then turn and began to walk away from the cliff

"Qrow, you know Akame loves you right?" Glynda asked causing him to stop

"Yeah... but I don't know if that's a good thing. She loves to spend time with me... but my semblance might... you know." Qrow answered and began to walk away again, Glynda sighed she couldn't imagine having a semblance like Qrows' every step he took was one step closer to a disaster he couldn't prevent, she just wished that he didn't have to know.

**(o)**

Ruby was tripped as she attempted to dodge back, before she could hit the ground a hand caught her, looking up at her savor and she was greeted by Esdeath

"Your footing was off." Esdeath commented, pulling Ruby up a bit so she could get her footing, but Ruby made very little attempt to regain her footing

"Y- Yeah." Ruby agreed as she stared into Esdeath's eyes, there was something captivating about them, it was like she was looking into a fire, she couldn't take her eyes away from them, Esdeath lurched forward and locked her lips with Rubys', Ruby wanted to do the same but she was distracted by Esdeath's eyes, so she was thankful that Esdeath took the initiative, staying like that for a while Ruby began to lose consciousness from lack of air, Esdeath seemed to notice this and pulled away causing Ruby to suddenly gasp for air and Esdeath's expression quickly became a look of concern.

"Ruby, if you were running out of air you should have done something." Esdeath scolded, still full of vigor after the affair.

"How... are you... not out of... breath?" Ruby asked, still breathing quite heavily.

"I took a breath before hand, did you not?" Esdeath answered as she turned the question on Ruby as she helped her stand

"Yes! You have the cardio of a monster." Ruby said after she recovered from her lack of oxygen

"Oh... lets work on your cardio then." Esdeath said causing Ruby to pale a bit

"Cant we take a break?" Ruby asked slight fear of the woman in front of her growing

"You have to run away from me for the next five hours, if you successfully stay out of my reach I will grant you one wish if I am capable of granting it." Esdeath said letting her killing intent begin to burn off of her "But if I catch you..." Esdeath trailed off with a sadistic grin growing on her face, Ruby nodded at the rules and reached behind her and found Crescent Rose, Muranohi, and her ammo belt all missing, looking at Esdeath questioningly, Esdeath smiled as she raised her hand in which was Rubys' belt and weapons

"Good luck Ruby, I'll begin chasing you in one minute." Esdeath said and began to count down causing Ruby to panic a bit then vanish in a flurry of rose petals, Esdeath wasn't actually going to do anything harmful to Ruby, but she knew that Ruby needed that extra push to take this seriously, and Esdeath was happy to let her mind wander to what she was going to do with Ruby when she caught her

**(o)**

Ruby ran turning corner after corner until she bumped into someone

"I'm sorry! I gotta- Akame!" Ruby began to apologize but she stopped when she locked eyes with the girl in front of her

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Akame asked as she knelt down and helped Neo stand

"Esdeath's chasing me! I need your help." Ruby quickly explained as she looked over her shoulder, Neo was glaring at her

"What did you do?" Akame asked now looking concerned Neo looked to Akame ask she spoke

"Well you see were train-" Ruby began but was interrupted by Akame, Neo was happily watching the exchange

"Good luck." Akame interrupted as she began to walk the other way, Neo waved to Ruby and caught up to Akame, Ruby shouted something that sounded like 'betrayal' and began to run in another random direction, Akame and Neo made their way as far away from Ruby as possible

"So, has father said anything about our time together to you?" Akame asked looking over to Neo who shook her head 'no'

"Me neither, should we confront him about it? I don't want things to be awkward between the three of us." Akame wondered out loud, Neo shrugged and gestured to herself and then shook her head violently "I guess I wouldn't want to talk about it if it were me either, but I want to at least make sure he's okay with it. I've never had a relationship like this before, this is all very... new for me." Akame explained earning a nod from Neo, they had been spending more time together but it felt strange for Akame, she knew where her loyalties lied and that was enough for her to be happy, but she was unsure if Neo felt the same, turning another corner they made their way towards Akames' personal kitchen that Ozpin had designated for her, after their battle with Esdeath and helping Glynda receive treatment

"Are you hungry Neo?" Akame asked looking over to the girl who tilted her head for a moment seemingly in thought, after a few seconds she nodded and made a squeezing gesture with her index finger and thumb; so she was a little hungry

"Alright, I'll make us something to eat then." Akame said as they made their way towards her kitchen quicker now, Akame seemed to have a bit more of a spring in her step now too

**(o)**

Ruby decided that the city was her best choice to hide in, downside, Akame never taught them how to hide in a city so she had to learn and learn fast, landing in the city she felt her Aura shatter, using her semblance to travel from Beacon to Vale probably wasn't the best idea, but hey Esdeath had to take an airship so... silver lining, with a sigh Ruby began to make her way through Vale toward the cheaper side of town, once she reached it she found a shop that sold clothing, entering Ruby found a trench coat similar to Akames but brown and it looked like it had been through hell, looking it over she took it off the rack and walked over to the changing room where she took off her cloak and hid in the vent above the room while putting her pin in her pocket. Exiting the room she tossed some Lien to the shop owner as she left and pulled the coat on and tied her hair back, sliding her hands in her pockets she tried to relax, Akame had told her that relaxing is the most important part of hiding in plain sight, doubly so when it comes to Esdeath.

Ruby sat down in the park near the center of the city, looking around she saw Huntsman and Huntresses walking around mainly walking to the mission boards and flipping through missions, the most common one they were taking were; Annihilation, and Search and Rescue, given the current status of Mountain Glenn lots of Huntsman were missing because of the numbers there, standing up she walked over to the board and began to look through with the large crowd, a quick glance over her shoulder told her that listening to her instincts she was the right move because Esdeath just walked right past her...

**(o)**

Neo was shocked, Akame had cooked so much food, mainly meat, but apart from that she cooked just about everything she could get her hands on and put it on the table in front of her, she wasn't even that hungry

"Eat as much as you can, I'll eat what you cant." Akame said neutrally, that made sense, that made so much more sense; because she knew Neo couldn't eat all of the food in front of her she cooked what she wanted, so she didn't seem to be greedy

Neo tilted her head then shrugged and began to eat, the food itself was delicious, Akame was an extremely skilled cook, Neo nodded and began to eat more, earning a smile from Akame who was stealing little bits of food

"I enjoy cooking, its a good form of training in communication, and it give something tasty to enjoy afterwards." Akame said as she started to pick bigger and bigger pieces, Neo nodded as they ate

**(o)**

Qrow walked into Vale, for some reason Esdeath was on the airship with him, but he didn't ask questions, or acknowledge her for that matter, walking down the street he was most familiar with Qrow and walked straight down to the Crow Bar, his preferred place of relaxation in recent days. Entering, Qrow sat down at the bar and waved down the bartender who didn't ask what he wanted, he just put the drink directly in front of him, Qrow nodded and began to drink as he tossed some Lien on the bar

"So, what do you think of that girl from the finals?" the bartender asked after making sure that no one was going to be joining them

"Meh, she fought hard, but with adrenaline and battlefield trauma running high... one thing that a lot of civilians don't understand is that a lot of people cant determine the difference between friend or foe on the battlefield, regardless of how many people are on it." Qrow said earning a nod from the bartender

"I respect huntsman for the work they do, but still... do you think that other kid'll be okay?" the bartender asked seeming a little guilty

"He seems to have the determination to be able to shake this thing off. He'll be fine." Qrow waved off as he took a drink

**(o)**

Ruby walked away from the mission board and in the direction Esdeath came from, with a sigh of relief she drew her scroll and read the time, she had four hours to go and she almost brushed shoulders with Esdeath, she wasn't prepared for that yet, her Aura was beginning to regenerate but without proper time to rest she cant petal burst for more that a few feet, which isn't exactly helpful when running from Esdeath. With a sigh, Ruby turned down an alley way set on putting a lot more distance between her and Esdeath.

**(o)**

Akame followed Neo to Amity, again they were forced to run and hide from reporters, this was really starting to piss her off, they hounded her at all times when she came up here and she assumed they would also come to the school if Ozpin didn't allow anyone but Huntsman to freely access school grounds.

"Why did you want to come up here again?" Akame asked as they hid in the maintenance hallway that Akame became so accustom to using, Neo made a few gestures and pulled Romans hat from behind her back, Akame still had no idea how she was doing that, Neo the gestured to it then made a motion like she was snapping a stick she then pointed at the door behind Akame.

"You... want to break out Roman?" Akame asked earning a nod from Neo who then gestured to herself and nodded then to Akame and made an x with her arms

"You want to break out Roman, but you don't want me involved? Or do you want me to help you break Roman out?" Akame asked raising her eyebrow at the shorter girl, who held up two fingers and nodded.

"I cant help you directly, Esdeath would kill me. But I can give you these." Akame said as she took off her insignia "This should be able to get you through most security without too much worry, but once you get Roman those will do little more and cause confusion." Akame explained as Neo latched onto her, returning the hugging gesture they stayed like that for a few moments then Akame pushed Neo off and smiled at her "Good luck, and I'm sorry I cant do more." Akame apologized but Neo quickly waved off her apology and held up the insignia, guesting that they were help enough, after a few seconds of showing them, Akame watched in amazement as the insignia in question looked to peal away revealing straight sliver with a gold accent around it with a single gold star at the center of it, if memory served that was the rank of a Oberleutnant, Neo smiled at the amazement on Akames face, and quickly kissed her, as soon as they pulled apart Neo winked at her before shattering into a million pieces again, Akame waited until they all faded away to exit the hallway

"And now we'll determine the next fight in the finals!" Ports voice rang out from over head, Akame let out a sigh and turned towards the fight and began to look for a seat.

**(o)**

Ruby walked to the end of another street, she kept getting very lucky, Esdeath was practically walking with her through the city, when she got somewhere she thought might be a good place to hold up for a while, Esdeath came sauntering by and she had to move, just three more hours... three more hours and she was good. Looking behind her she wanted to scream, Esdeath was talking with a Lucas, the man who runs the bakery three blocks from where they were, she was planing on asking him for help but now that Esdeath was talking to him that was out of the question, she she began to walk down another alley way she found a dumpster and sat down behind it, this was getting exhausting, why was her heart pounding? After a few seconds she heard footsteps that she recognized at Esdeaths' the stopped in front of the dumpster she was hiding behind. Esdeath was going to check behind this.

Ruby let out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes and focused _**"Mahapadma" It felt like her whole body was on fire, standing she walked out from behind the dumpster leaning heavily on it for support, walking past Esdeath she looked her over, she was frozen in time, it was safe, she walked down the alley the direction she and Esdeath came from, and leaned against the wall, out of Esdeaths' line of sight,**__** closing her eyes Ruby **__slid down the wall and sat down as she felt time begin to move again,_ as soon as she got her bearings she covered her and listened she didn't hear anything; no foot steps, no words, no breathing, nothing. opening her eyes she was greeted by a very similar pair of boots, following them up she saw Esdeath smiling down at her

"So, when did you take my blood?" Esdeath asked happily as she pulled Ruby up into a standing position.

"After my talk with Ozpin yesterday... I figured if I was going to be honest with them about... my differences, I should cement the difference... I haven't shown them yet." Ruby answered as she tried to move her body, it wouldn't listen to her so Esdeath picked her up and began to carry her; Ruby then went into farther detail.

**(\\_/)**

_Staring at the bottle, ruby felt tons of thoughts run through her head in almost an instant; what will happen to me? Who will I become? Is this worth it? What will it taste like? These thoughts seemed to permeate her mind and guide her thoughts to Esdeath for some reason, the more she thought on it the more she felt that the blood in this bottle defined Esdeath, made her who she was, and she didn't even know it, the trepidation that she felt would be the death of her if she didn't get her mind under control, with a sigh Ruby unscrewed the lid and took a whiff of the blood; it reminded her of Esdeath, just another Reminder that after this she would _**not**_ be the same._

"_Now or never." Ruby said to herself as she brought the bottle to her lips. Without any more hesitation, Ruby drank every last drop, it was cold and inviting, after she finished drinking she felt it return, she heard her; Esdeath, in her mind screaming at her **BREAK THE WEAK! KILL THE WEAK! REND THE FLESH OF THE UNWORTHY! ERASE ALL WHO STAND AGAINST ME! DEGRADE THOSE WHO ARE FOOLISH! HARM EVERYONE! SEVER THIER LIMBS AND STEAL THEIR FREEDOM!**_

_Ruby began to laugh hysterically, she was so wrong, this blood didn't define Esdeath, Esdeath defined it! Now it was her turn to break the beast within her **BREAK THE OLD! KILL THE UNWORTH! REND THE FLESH OF THE FOOLS! ERASE ALL WHO STAND AGAINST ME! DEGRADE THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST MY POWER! HARM EVERYONE! SEVER THIER LIMBS AND STEAL THEIR FREEDOM! **Ruby's laughter didn't stop as she dropped to the floor as black smoke began to rise off her very being._

"_**QUIET!"** Ruby shouted out in rage her voice felt unnatural as she shouted **"I OWN YOU! I WILL NEVER BE BROKEN! I MUST GROW STRONGER! AND YOU ARE MY TOOL! SO STOP STRUGGLING AND SUBMIT!" **The words felt beyond natural, the screaming voice slowly silenced itself and Ruby again began to laugh uncontrollably from her spot on the floor "I win." was all she said as she felt a burning sensations over her heart, taking off her school uniform, Ruby stood and looked in the mirror, over her heart was a black tattoo; her Teigu _

**(o)**

"Well, I'm quite impressed that you managed to tame it all by yourself, but the main reason I wanted to be there when you tamed it was just in case it rejected you, I would be able to use my semblance on you to save your life." Esdeath explained earning a slow nod from Ruby.

"Right... I suppose I jumped the gun on this then." Ruby awkwardly said as Esdeath shifted her to a more comfortable position.

"Of course you did, so tell me; sense then have you had any similar tenancies to me?" Esdeath asked as Ruby looked around at the people who were giving them strange looks

"Not that I've noticed, but I'm sure its fine. I do have it under control." Ruby waved off, earning a nod from Esdeath

"While the may be true right now, that doesn't mean that it will remain the same in battle." Esdeath explained as she made her way towards the airdocks

"Wait! I have to go get my cape!" Ruby nearly screeched earning a raised eyebrow from Esdeath

"I already got it." she said causing Ruby to do a double take

"You wha?" Ruby asked, now completely confused by her words

"I already got you cape, it was in a vent in a clothing store in the slums yes?" Esdeath asked causing Ruby to slowly nod "I already retrieved it and had one of my solders bring it back to you dorm."

"But how did you know it was there?!" Ruby asked this time her actual question got out

"Oh, well I followed your scent there. I don't know if you know this or not but the longer you use your semblance the more you smell like roses." Esdeath said earning a strange look from Ruby

"What?... how'd you figure that out?" Ruby questioned as Esdeath leaned down and sniffed her

"When I had your semblance I used it quite a number of times in tests. Did you know that you can split into any number of groups of rose petals."

"Really!?" Ruby asked thinking of all the uses "I just... do it... when I use it I don't think I just... do it."

"What about becoming a swarm of rose petals to avoid damage?" Esdeath questioned again causing another gauge from Ruby

"How did you learn all this! You had my semblance of like... a month and a half!"

"I wanted to see how much I could do with it." Esdeath answered casually

"You're better with my semblance than I am!" Ruby complained earning a laugh from Esdeath

"How about this; I'll teach you more about your semblance, while I teach you about Demon's Extract." Esdeath offered earning a nod from Ruby

"I'd like that. If it makes me stronger than it'll be completely worth it." Ruby said confidently, Esdeath began to blush as she watched Rubys eyes burn with determination

"WAIT! Can we watch the next match in the finals?" Ruby asked looking to Esdeath who smiled at her

"Of course, we can go over your punishment while we watch." Esdeath said pulling Ruby closer to her, Ruby on the other hand suddenly grew very nauseous

**(o)**

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Ooblecks voiced called, out through the bar, Qrow sighed and he looked up at the screen and watched as the selection process, Oobleck said that its randomly decided before each match, but Qrow knew better, most matches were selected days in advanced, but Port, being the first to say it, probably thinks that it'll get people excited before each match, he did raise an eyebrow when Pyrrha was selected, he was finally going to be able to see her in action, without any useless teammates

"PYRRHA NIKOS FROM BEACON!" Port shouted causing massive amounts of applause

**(o)**

Ozpin leaned back in his seat, and watched at Pyrrha's opponent was chosen, to his surprise is was Penny, that girl that spent a lot of time with Esdeath, following her around almost like a lost puppy.

"PENNY POLENDINA FROM ATLAS!" Port shouted out causing the crowd to cheer louder again.

**(o)**

Akame felt something was very very wrong, she always learned to trust her instincts so she trusted them once more, looking around in the stands she noticed it, someone who should be in Mistral right now; Emerald, as soon as she saw her everything quickly clicked into place, getting to her feet Akame began to walk around the seats, but found it difficult to reach her without being noticed, quickly jumping over the student seats Akame began to move much quicker, only to roll her eyes at the group of reporters interviewing students in her way, ducking into the maintenance hallway nearby she began to jog again towards her objective, but she stopped cold when Mercury stepped in her way

"Move or die." Akame said her voice losing all life in it as she drew Murasame and pointed it at him

"I wont be holding back on you this time." Mercury commented coldly as he dropped into a fighting stance, the armor on his arms was far more covering than when they first fought, so she knew she wouldn't be getting though it with Murasame, but that didn't matter, she will be cutting straight into his flesh

"The fight will begin! In three!... Two!... One! BEGIN!" Ports voice shouted out earning a growl from Akame, she didn't have times for this, Emerald had to be doing something to Yang during her fight, and she was planing on doing something to either Penny or Pyrrha in this one. This was one of the only times Akame has felt such anger towards herself for being so blind, but right now she could correct her mistake, even if it meant that she had to give up on being a huntress, she knew that she could escape authorities and much to her disgust she could even ask Esdeath for asylum if things got too desperate, just two more bodies to add to her memory.

**A/N This chapters going to be slightly shorter than most because I really want to save things for that chapter, and I surprisingly got everything almost lined up perfectly.**


	9. Kill the Robot

Akame rushed forward and attacked, Mercury blocked the strike and kicked at her, Akame dived back avoiding the blow, running forward she tried to pass him, but he moved in her way, quickly sliding under him she slashed at his leg but it felt like armor and his Aura held strong, it seems that even now if she cant cut directly into her opponent their Aura will hold, standing she ran past him Akame made her way as quickly as possible to the other end of the hall, as she moved she dodged blasts of wind and bullets

"Come on, I thought you were a killer too?!" Mercury called after her as she ran, turning around briefly Akame slashed horizontally sending an Aura arc at him causing boxes near him to collapse in his path, leaping over it he fired a round at Akame who leaned back just enough to dodge it, as she bent back she kicked off the ground swinging up her own attack catching Mercury in the chin with her foot she then slashed at him again he moved his legs in the way and his Aura still held. Turning again Akame ran towards her true quarrel, dodging his attacks once more, Akame began to use Aura arcs to break things and drop them in her path; crates, pipes, lights, machines, whatever was in her way, so she could slow him down, she had no time for combat right now.

**(o)**

Qrow leaned back and watched much closer now, Pyrrha and Penny were growing more and more heated by the second; this was actually getting interesting

Penny blocked strikes using the blades of Floating Array while attacking at the same time, Pyrrha wasn't effected by this in the slightest; stabbing at Penny with Milo while defecting attacks with Akouo it seemed like she knew where the weapons were coming from already, flipping backward Pyrrha deflected a blade with Milo while she threw Akouo at Penny who defected it, sprinting at Penny, Pyrrha transformed Milo from a javelin into a blade as she rushed her swinging the blade at Penny who jumped back and threw all her blades like a disc at Pyrrha who rolled out of the way and called Akouo back to her allowing it to sheath itself on her back blocking a strike from Pennys' Floating Array, placing her hand on one of the blades Pyrrha pushed it away from her and rolled out of the way of the rest of the attack, drawing Akouo again she rushed Penny who called her weapons back a little too slowly and suffered a few strikes before the blades returned to her, rolling back again Pyrrha looked for an opening in Pennys' defenses, she couldn't find any; so she decided to make one, rushing Penny Pyrrha spun Milo and threw it at her, Penny leaned out of the way and launched a barrage of blades at her, Pyrrha looked shocked briefly but instincts took over and a wave of black energy shot off of her sending the blades back at their owner, the wires used to guide the blades to their target made their way around Pennys' body and ripped her to pieces

Qrows' eyes widened as he realized what just happened, getting to his feet Qrow ran out of the bar and vanished into a flurry of black feathers that quickly became a crow that began to fly towards Beacon

**(o)**

Ozpin stood from his desk as he realized what just happened, but he recognized that her body didn't spray blood or react at all like it should have, sitting back down he began to watch intently as the screen flickered red and a black chess piece appeared on it

"This is _not_a tragedy. This was _not_an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children_, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than _men_. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference, and what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching _his_ students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps this was his message to the bloodthirsty dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... _equally _undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet _we_, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?" after the speech ended the screen became static, Ozpin could barely contain his anger, as he reached for his scroll and began to type in Esdeaths' number

**(o)**

"What!?" Ruby shouted as she stared at the screen of static in front of her she then turned her attention to Esdeath

"It's time." Esdeath said as she turned and looked at Beacon "Everything here now comes to an end! Let your bloodlust and fear become your strength. Slaughter all who stand in your path." Esdeath ordered her voice holding an old convection in it as she drew her blade and looked over head, Nevermore had already begun to enter the city, the dread and fear seeming to grow by the second as screams began to resound through the streets, but all Ruby could focus on was the growing excitement she was feeling

Esdeath reached into her coat when a ringing began, drawing her scroll and answering the call, she silently waiting for the person on the other end to speak

"Esdeath... you know what to do." Ozpin said before hanging up, Esdeaths' smile quickly became sadistic as she pressed a few buttons on her scroll and she began to walk away

"Esdeath! Where are you going?!" Ruby called after her not knowing what to do with herself in this kind of situation

"I have a few things in the city I have to do; run around, have some fun, I'll find you when its time." Esdeath answered as she began to walk in what seemed to be a random direction

**(o)**

Winter looked down at the ground as she heard shrieks of Nevermore

"Winter! What do we do?" Weiss asked as she looked to the older of the two

"I..." Winter began weakly, closing her eyes she took a few breaths then spoke again her tone far stronger than before "I need to ensure the safety of the citizens here, you need to go protect Beacon. I'll help organize things here then come and join you." Winter ordered as she drew her blade

"Got it, be safe sister." Weiss agreed as she turned and began towards the airdocks. Winter let out a sigh then she darted off to find solders or the police to help organize them into a repealing force, if it were possible

**(o)**

Taiyang stood, he looked at Zwei then whistled and bolted to the door pulling it open as the two began to make their way to Vale

**(o)**

After the stands were vacated Akame let out a growl, turning back to Mercury who smirked at her as he flickered from existence, but his presences was still there, attacking Akame felt the strike stop and she leapt back as she sensed danger from in front of her, as she moved back she slashed behind her and felt Murasame deflect two attacks she looked behind her and saw no one, jumping into the air she planted her feet on the wall and kicked off attacking nothing but air, Mercurys' presence vanished and the presences she felt in her mind also vanished with him, running over to the stands she searched for Emerald but found her seat empty, they had gotten away. Again Akame felt such burning rage towards herself for failing again, this time though, she couldn't mope about failure, she had to move.

[Warning, safety barrier failing.]

"PYRRHA! SNAP OUT OF IT! YOU GOTTA MOVE!" Jaune shouted, looking down at him Akame shifted her gaze to follow his, Pyrrha was staring blankly at Pennys' body

[Barrier failure imminent, please retreat to a safe distance.]

"PYRRHA!" Jaune shouted as he leapt over the railing and ran towards Pyrrha who was still zoned out, looking up Akame drew Murasame and Due Process as the Nevermore broke through the barrier before it could land a gunshot could be heard and the beast turned to dust, Akame landed in front of Pyrrha who slowly looked up at her

"If you cant keep fighting because of a single death, then you have no right to carry a weapon." Akame said coldly as she sheathed her blade and let Due Process weigh in her hand

"She was our friend." Pyrrha tried to reason as she felt tears swell in her eyes

"Then stop crying, and start fighting." Akame ordered "If I gave up every time someone I loved was lost to me I would have given up when I was seven." Akame added as she pulled Pyrrha to a standing position "Don't think, just fight. Mourn later when people aren't counting on us to keep them alive." Akame ordered as she turned and began to walk away but stopped next to Penny bent down and closed her eyes before continuing away from them

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called as he reached her "Pyrrha, are you okay!?" Jaune asked as he looked her over

"I'm fine. Come on we gotta-" Pyrrha began but was cut off by the sounds of roars from Griffin, Akame stopped in her tracks

"Get your weapons. I'll hold them off." Akame ordered as she prepared to slash any Griffin that got too close and sent Aura arcs at the ones that she couldn't reach, the rest of the huntsman-in-training quickly began to pull out their scrolls and call their lockers

**(o)**

Ruby ran down street after street killing any Grimm that she could find, they had gotten into the city so quickly and people were panicking making things worse, as she made her way down an alley she looked at the walls, they were stained with fresh blood, people had died here recently, with a sigh Ruby leapt up to the roofs and continued from there but she was shocked, while the battleships were firing on Grimm and dropping off solders there were still so many Grimm flooding the city, it was almost like an ocean of death, Ruby rested Crescent Rose on her shoulder and summoned a blade of ice and held it in her off hand as she dropped into the main street; men, woman, and children were running past her; away from the advancing wave of Grimm. With a wave of her hand large spears of ice rose from the ground and impaled large numbers of Grimm, the people slowly stopped retreating to stop and gawk, Ruby began to walk towards the barrier of spears she made

"Mommy! Look! Its a maiden!" a little girl called in awe as she pointed at Ruby as she summoned spears of ice to rain on the Grimm that survived her first attack, Ruby ignored her call but she smiled knowing that meant the plan was working.

**(o)**

Qrow landed back in Vale, Oz ordered him to get to the city and calm things down before returning to Beacon so that's the plan. Jumping onto the roofs Qrow began to walk along firing Harbinger at the fliers and any Grimm that got too close to people, it was the best he could do, thanks to his semblance.

**(o)**

Blake rolled to the side of the Alpha Beowolf while Yang punched its head down onto a piece of rubble killing it, letting out a sigh she turned to Blake and smiled. Things would be better if the rest of the student body would stop panicking and help them, but they didn't have much choice right now

"Guys!" Weiss' voice came from behind them, turning to her Yang quickly rapped her arms around Weiss and let out a sigh

"I'm glad you're okay." Yang said then released her

"I'm glad too. But we can't celebrate yet, the White Fang are releasing Grimm into the school." Weiss quickly explained, earning a surprised look from the other two

"Right... I'll go see what I can do about their transports." Yang said after a few seconds "You two cover the tower for now if you see anything that seems to be... you know... not good... kill it." Yang said slowly losing momentum as she spoke clearly not used to giving orders

"Inspiring." Weiss commented with a deadpan stare

"People are dying." Blake said causing the other two to refocus

"Shes right, lets get moving." Yang agreed as she turn and ran towards the landing pads, Weiss sighed and ran towards the other side of the tower where she heard calls for help, Blake leapt forward and cut down a couple of Creeps that tried to attack her as her teammates left for their own missions

**(o)**

Ozpin watched as everything he had built began to fall apart, but he knew that he had to wait until the time was right to help, he wasn't as young as he used to be so if he started fighting now he'd be too tired to protect Amber and that was the most important thing right now

**(o)**

"I see you survived your run in with Akame." Cinder commented as Emerald and Mercury ran up and joined her as they watched the destruction

"Yeah, it turns out her semblance isn't instantly breaking Aura." Mercury commented as he pulled the extra armor off

"Oh, what is it then?" Cinder asked raising an eyebrow at him

"No idea, but whatever it is it must take quite a bit of energy if she doesn't use it very often." Mercury shrugged off "So what are we waiting for?"

"Patience, we have to add to the confusion a bit more. We just have to wait for Neo and Roman to finish their task." after a few seconds her scroll got a message, pulling it out of her dress she saw it was from Neo

[YSOL]

"What does this mean?" Cinder asked holding it out to Emerald

"It means 'You're Shit Out of Luck'." Emerald answered causing Cinders eye to twitch

"Don't we have a plan for this?" Mercury asked looking at her

"No, we barely got access to the CCT thanks to Esdeath. Watts warned me about her, he told me to watch out for Esdeath, that she was built for war. I didn't believe him, so we'll have to work around this... here." Cinder said as she tossed her scroll to Mercury who caught it and looked at her expecting orders "Record the chaos and broadcast it too every kingdom, if we cant get them to distrust Atlas we'll sure as hell get them to panic."

**(o)**

Akame stood inside the airbus and stared at the destruction below, they had to defend Beacon but they also had to survive what was coming, it felt like she was in the empire again, she was scared for the people she had bonded with but she trusted them to get through this

"Akame whats the plan?" Sun asked as he walked up next to her

"Kill everyone who attacks us, and protect the CCT, after that make sure Beacon is safe then set it up as a safe zone and evacuate Vale to Patch and Beacon. I don't think we'll be able to hold onto the city." Akame answered as she stared down at Vale, which was currently burning and in pure chaos "We have to regroup before trying." Akame clarified as the airbus shifted

"WE'RE HIT!" called Neptune as the airbus continued to shift more

"I'll go kill whatever thought it was a good idea to attack us." Akame quickly said as she ran towards the back of the bus and opened the door, climbing onto the back of the airship, there was a nevermore stabbing at it, walking up to it she let Murasame cut across it causing it to turn to dust. She then sat down and held her stomach, she wanted to throw up so badly now.

**(o)**

Ruby elbowed a Beowolf spun and cut the head off of it along with two others, they were slowly starting to out pace her, continuing to summon spears of ice she launched them into crowds of Grimm cutting them to shreds but more just kept taking their places, with a growl Ruby summoned a wall of ice blocking herself off from the endless stream of Grimm, she then turned and began towards Beacon

"Kid!" Qrows' voice came as he landed near her

"What are you doing here!? Shouldn't you be protecting Beacon!?" Ruby questioned looking at him in confusion and concern

"Oz wants me to help settle things down here before I go help him, you should make your way to Beacon and make sure its safe." Qrow answered as he turned away from her and stared at the wall she created "Also... never mind." Qrow waved off as he turned and began down an alleyway nearby them, Ruby nodded and began towards Beacon

**(o)**

Esdeath closed her eyes and listened closely, the screams for help, the roars of Grimm, the sound of fire burning wild and untamed, she smiled, this was the world she dreamed of, turning around she stared at a Beowolf that began to circle her

"Your master is as weak as you, and just as foolish if she decided that you alone would stand before me." Esdeath commented confidently as she looked around at the hundreds of Grimm that surrounded her, they all dived to attack but turned to dust before any of them knew what hit them, she hadn't even stopped time and now she was bored again, turning around she began to make her way towards main street as she drew he scroll and called William after hearing several of the spears of ice she summoned begin to fall apart

"Master?"

"Do you think there's anyway we can make this more fun?" Esdeath asked as she walked down the sidewalk and occasionally looking into abandoned storefronts for things she thought Ruby would like

"We could set the androids to go haywire. But Mich wouldn't be happy with that." William answered after a few seconds of thought

"Hmm... no that would be what our enemies want. Stop firing our guns and call back all airships, leave the solders." Esdeath said a sadistic smile growing "Lets see what'll happen when all our air support vanishes. Because of dust shortages." Esdeath commented

"Yes, master." William answered it was clear she was smiling by her voice

"Lets see how you handle this Ruby." Esdeath said to herself as she returned the scroll to her pocket

**(o)**

Akame ran from the top of the air bus towards the commotion, she was quickly followed by all the huntsman-in-training, she found Weiss first she was surrounded by White Fang corpses and covered in their blood

"Weiss, are you okay?" Akame asked as she began to look over Weiss

"I'm fine... wheres Ruby?" Weiss asked tiredly

"Last I knew she was in Vale." Akame answered as she let go of Weiss

"Cant you do that weird... mental GPS thing?" Weiss asked earning confused looks from Everyone but Akame

"This isn't a normal set of circumstances, so no. I cant. Also I don't know what is GPS." Akame answered then turned to everyone else and spoke "Set up a defensive perimeter around the tower. Kill anyone or anything that gets too close, Jaune I'm delegating the set up of defenses to you." Akame ordered

"M-me?!" Jaune questioned, clearly fearful of the task

"You may not be a fighter but you're a tactician, start acting like it. If you need more motivation remember; all the deaths that occur in defense of this tower are now on you and if you fail all those deaths are on me." Akame said causing Jaune to nod and begin to shout out orders

"Are you sure he can handle this?" Weiss asked as she panted and looked up at Akame

"He doesn't have a choice." Akame avoided as she watched him leave "Where are Blake and Yang?"

"Blake was defending the other side of the tower, near the cafeteria, Yang went to stop the White Fang from landing more airships." Weiss answered as she sat down and began to breath heavily

"I'll find them and bring them here, along with anyone else I can find." Akame said as she took off towards the general area she saw Grimm and White Fang coming from

**(o)**

"What the hell is going on." Qrow asked himself all the air support in the city basically vanished and now they were short staffed and transports were beginning to slow

"QROW!" Glynda called up to him, leaping down Qrow stabbed an Alpha that tried to slash her

"Yeah, whats up?" Qrow asked as he joined her in fighting off the endless onslaught of Grimm, none getting past them, after awhile the tide retreated to regroup

"Where is our support?" Glynda questioned tiredly, Qrow looked behind her as a man jogged up to them

"Well... we have one supporter... but he's not that great." Qrow answered looking Tai up and down

"Yeah well we all got jobs to do. How can I help?" Tai asked coldly glaring at Qrow

"We're getting pushed back by this horde, we need to scatter them." Qrow explained as he gestured at the massive number of Grimm that were regrouping behind him

"I'd bet we can take 'em." Tai said looking over the Grimm across from them

"My thoughts exactly." Qrow agreed as he transformed Harbinger into a Scythe

"Just try not to get in my way. Like you usually do." Tai commented as he walked up next to Qrow

"I recall saving your ass more times then 'getting in the way' as you put it." Qrow snarked as he rolled his eyes at his teammate

"I'll back you two up as much as possible." Glynda said clearly fearing what was going to happen

"No you stay here Glynda, these people still need cover more than us, once they are taken to Patch, then you can come help us. Plus Zwei cant hold off much more than a Beowolf on his own" Tai ordered earning a nod from Glynda

"Just like old times." Qrow commented as he and Tai began to rush the now charging Grimm

"Yeah... 'cept-" Tai didn't get to finish his statement because the roars of the Grimm in front of them

**(o)**

Esdeath sat on the rooftops watching the Grimm flood a large majority of the city, turning her gaze back down to Qrow and Tai who were expertly fighting off the tide of Grimm seemingly with little trouble, but it was clear that Tai was starting to slow

"I suppose now is a good time for me to join." Esdeath commented as she dropped between Tai and Qrow as she landed she placed her hand on the ground causing spikes to launched from beneath the Grimm that were assaulting them impaling a large majority of them

"Holy shit!" Tai commented after he elbowed a Beowolf and followed up with a kick sending it into one of the spikes of ice

"Yeah, that's the typical reaction most people have. Where the hell is our support anyways?!" Qrow shot while cutting two Beowolf in half

"We've begun to run out of dust." Esdeath lied calmly as she stabbed a Ursa through the mouth turning it to dust, and with the swing of her blade she sent an Aura arc cutting a large number of the Grimm to pieces

"Whats the situation in the rest of the city then?" Qrow asked as he punched a Griffins' head in causing it to turn to dust

"We've been pushed back to two fronts in the city; here and the Beacon water docks. The Grimm have almost complete control of the city otherwise." Esdeath answered excitedly as the Grimm in front of them retreated and began to regroup

"Hang on a minute..." Qrow muttered looking between Esdeath and the battleships above them, things started to click in his head, and Esdeath silently cursed herself for being too vocal

"You wanted this to happen. You stopped the air support on purpose! Didn't you!" Qrow shouted grabbing Esdeath by her coat and lifted her off the ground, he didn't get a response in words, she just smiled at him "YOU HAVENT CHANGED AT ALL YOU FUCKING PSYCHO!" Qrow shouted as he cocked his arm back to attack

"Qrow! Calm down, why would Esdeath stop helping for no reason? Besides Rubys still out there." Tai questioned grabbing Qrows arm preventing him from punching her

"TAI! Let go of me!" Qrow growled as he continued to try and attack

"QUIET QROW! We have more important things to worry about then your vendetta. Right now you're not helping." Tai reasoned causing Qrow to drop Esdeath who let out a sigh that quickly changed into a growl

"Honestly Qrow, you could do with more discipline, now if you're done with your _baseless_ accusations, let me finish what I was saying; Ruby is holding the other front _alone_." Esdeath said causing Tai to glare at Qrow

"I'll go help her, you two stay here and _protect_ these people." Qrow ordered as he began to jog away, after he left Tai looked over to Esdeath and spoke

"I don't know whats going on between you two but I trust Qrow more than I trust you and I'd rather you two not start fighting again." Tai said coldly "Ruby trusts you, so that earns you some points, but I hope you have an actual good reason for stopping our support."

"I'm sure I'll think of something." Esdeath waved off as she turned back to the regrouping force of Grimm

**(o)**

Ruby growled at the waves of attacks, they were growing stronger by the second and she was protecting so many people all alone, add in the fact that the air support stopped so now she couldn't count on the support keeping the numbers low, thankfully the nevermore seemed to be attracted to Beacon and what she could only assume the other dock, so it wasn't her problem anymore, she just had to wait for the ships to get these people to safety, she thought about making a ship from ice, but decided against it because it would take too much time and effort. Things could be going better right now, but luckily they couldn't get any worse... right?

**(o)**

Roman sighed as he leaned back in the seat of the airship they... commandeered, looking over to Neo she smiled at him

"So... where are we going? Cause I wanna get _very_ far away from that." Roman asked as he gestured over his shoulder towards the general direction of Vale, Neo shrugged

Romans sighed as he leaned back in his seat "I'm going to assume that you didn't actually have a plan for after getting me out of there." Neo nodded with a bright smile, causing Roman to sigh again

"One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack." Roman mumbled to himself as he watched her fly the airship "So... did you seal the deal with red eyes?" Roman asked causing Neo to blush a bit and nod Roman let out a laugh at the look on her face

"So whats got you all embarrassed about it? Did someone walk in?" Roman asked again earning a pout from Neo "Well it cant have been that bad. So who was it? Little red? Or her team?" Neo shook her head but when she blinked her eyes they become tired and change to a faded tint of red as she glared at him

"Oh... yeah... that's an awkward one. Qrow has a habit of not knocking, and he always seems to walk in at the worst of times." Roman said causing Neo to slouch a bit as her eyes returned to normal "Well, look at it this way, now you don't have to worry about having _that_ talk with him." Roman said trying to get her to look at the brighter side of things "We can start over in Mistral, I have quite a few contacts over there so its not like were starting over from scratch." Roman added causing Neo to look slightly depressed, a few seconds after that she shifted from her normal form to Akame and looked at Roman, who blinked at her

"Look. I know you like her and all. But we gotta think about us first, and others second. Lets get set up in Mistral then, if you want to set a net for her after that, I wont stop you." Roman said earning a nod from Akame as she turned back to Neo who turned her attention back to flying the ship

**A/N Here we go, I figured that I cant focus too much on one fight at a time or else we'd be here all week doing this is the set up for the next chapter, the attack on Beacon might last until chapter 12 it might last until 11 or it might last until 10, it depends on what I can think of and what I want the story beats to feel like, I'm sure you'll all enjoy this though.**


	10. Kill the Tower

Akame let out a sigh as she looked around, it seemed that where ever she treaded death followed closely, ducking under a strike from a Beowolf Akame stabbed it with Murasame causing it to turn to ash, they had become so common place that she didn't even think about how to kill them, she just did. Looking around she saw crashed airships and assumed she was getting close to Yang, turning a corner she watched Yang finish off a grunt with a heavy strike to the throat

"Yang." Akame said causing Yang to jump a bit then turn to her

"Hey, the airships stopped coming in. We can move onto somewhere else now." Yang said as she gestured to her work

"Good idea, You go find Blake; Weiss said shes near the cafeteria. I'm going to go search the dorms of anyone hiding there." Akame replied as she turned away from Yang and ran towards the dorms, Yang nodded and let out a sigh as she ran off to find Blake

**(o)**

Ducking under a slash from an Ursa Ruby summoned a spear of ice and sent it into the beasts jaw killing it, she then turned and slashed at a Beowolf with her hand causing the beast to splitting in half. Staring at the ice that coated the side of her hand she was amazed, she had to learn so much about Demon's Extract in what felt like no time at all, which was good, downside to that was how exhausted she was beginning to feel. A growl from behind her told her that things were beginning to get serious again. Slashing her arm towards the growl as she dropped to the ground she summoned a spiked wall of ice behind the fading Grimm to kill and slow the rest of the horde, as well as prevent them from getting past her, diving backwards she barely avoided a bite from a Creep which dived through the smoke created by the Ursa that she slew, the Creep then turned to dust when a familiar blade impaled it, Qrow landed next to Harbinger and yanked it from the ground as the few Grimm that were left began retreating to regroup, with a sigh Qrow walked up to Ruby and looked her over, after making sure she was okay he spoke

"Kid I need you to call Esdeath and tell her to get things moving again. Otherwise we're not going to get these people out of here." Qrow ordered as he held down Harbingers trigger and turned towards the Grimm as his sword quickly became a scythe

**(o)**

Nora slammed her hammer into a Beowolf knocking it into an Ursa both of which were cleaved in half by Sage. Coco mowed down groups of Creeps and Beowolves that were getting too close to the tower and Jaune watched everyone and occasionally shouted out orders, Pyrrha helped with what she could, Sun helped the wounded get into the CCT and Neptune along with Flynt, Ren, and Neon were moving around as a group teaming up with anyone who was getting overwhelmed

"Jaune!" Noras' voice came looking to her she ran up to him

"Fox said we got three Death Stalkers on the way their coming from the south." Nora said as she panted lightly

"Right, COCO, YATSUHASHI! Three Death Stalkers to the south! Take them down!" Jaune shouted out, earning a nod from the two who rushed off to stop them before they got too close

"Alright! We can do this!" Neptune cheered as he jumped into the air, the ground suddenly shifted causing everyone to stumble, even the Grimm who stopped attacking all seeming to wait for something

**(o)**

The ground beneath their feet shifted and Tai fell to his knees

"What was that?" He asked as he regained his footing, Esdeath shrugged and looked over her shoulder at Glynda who turned very pale

"Oh... no." Was all she said before regaining her color and quickly changed the subject "Now that the transports are away we should go help Ruby and Qrow, quickly."

"That's not an answer." Esdeath stated as they began towards their new objective

**(o)**

"Uncle Qrow, what was that?" Ruby asked as he elbowed a Beowolf then slashed it in half

"The Wyvern." Qrow answered, as he dodged back and cut another Beowolf in half vertically

"THE WHAT!?" Ruby shouted at him, clear unhappy by his answer

"It doesn't matter right now, what does matter is that when you get a free moment tell your homicidal maniac of a girlfriend to get our support back." Qrow shot back as he jumped back next to Ruby who cut the Ursa that rushed after Qrow to pieces

"Why didn't you tell us about that?!" Ruby shouted at him as she sliced a Beowolf down as it tried to get past them

"'Cause if all this shit didn't happen, it literally wouldn't have mattered." Qrow answered as he fired Harbinger killing a Creep that did make it past both of them

**(o)**

Akame exited the dorms after she found a few people and directed them towards the new safe zone, she made her way back to the tower which was currently the perch for a large dragon, reaching the tower she began to search for Jaune who was one of the few people still there along with his team as she made her way towards them she took off her coat and dropped it to the ground, she suspected that she would need her full range of motion to take that thing down

"AKAME! Can you kill that thing!?" Jaune asked as he looked around for anyone else, but the increasing number of Grimm were becoming their main concern

"I cant reach it from here but-" Akame began but was interrupted as the door behind Jaune opened and Ozpin stepped out

"Pyrrha, its time. Akame you come too." Ozpin ordered earning a nod from her, the two then entered the tower

"Pyrrha, where are you-" Jaune began to question but Akame just gestured for him to follow as she ran after the two

"You two get to safety." Jaune ordered as he followed after Akame

**(o)**

"So you're telling me that there was a Wyvern living inside of Mountain Glenn, and no one thought to tell _ME_!" Esdeath questioned clearly outraged by that fact "I thought they were just a myth!"

"We wanted it to stay that way, if everyone knew that Wyvern Existed thousands of people would give up hope." Glynda reasoned as they drew closer to the docks

"I feel betrayed." Esdeath commented as she reached into her pocket and drew her ringing scroll

"Hell-" Esdeath began

"GET THOSE DAMN GUNS FIRING! NOW!" Rubys' voice shouted from the other end which doubled due to them being able to hear her shout from the docks, Esdeath blinked in surprise as the call ended leaving no room for argument

"Sounds like you're in trouble." Tai commented as they jumped over the final street between them and the docks

"I suppose I've had enough fun." Esdeath commented and sent William a text and after a few moments the cannons started firing again, and the airships began to roll in

**(o)**

Ruby glared at Esdeath who weakly smiled at her, they were away from everyone else right now, they were on a rooftop watching for more Grimm. That's what Ruby told everyone at least.

"Esdeath." Ruby said, her tone was cold but not angry "Why did you stop our support?" Ruby asked calmly

"Apart from a shortage of dust, we cant effectively support solders in a city. I felt the resources were better to be conserved for a later action such as retaking Vale." Esdeath calmly explained, she could fix this, Ruby wasn't as tactically inclined as her, especially when it came to Atlas military tactics.

"Okay, but it is standard practice by the Atlas military to keep armies in foreign territory fully stocked encase of incidents like this one. Or are you saying that you're skills of logistics is so poor that you couldn't protect one city?" Ruby shot back, causing Esdeaths' eye to twitch "Are you surprised that I read about the military I was drafted into? What the hell is wrong with you!? So many people have died because of you, you have got to be the weakest genera-" Ruby began but was shut up by Esdeath backhanding her

"That's enough! I wont tolerate _you_ belittling _me_ for actions that _I_ preform that benefit _you _alone! I ordered our support to be dropped because you needed to learn. Have you not noticed how much stronger you've become because of what I did?!" Esdeath hissed as Ruby quickly recovered from the strike

"You sacrificed an entire city just so you could have some fun! I'm not blind to that!" Ruby shouted as she punched at Esdeath who swatted it away only to suffer an elbow to the chin, stumbling back she glared at Ruby who glared back at her, they stood glaring at each other for what felt like forever with the sounds of Grimm being slaughtered being the only indication that time was passing for them

"I'm not going to argue this now." Esdeath finally said as she regained her composure "We'll finish our job here, then talk about this later." Esdeath said as she looked at the roof beneath their feet "But, I suppose I must have taken it too far by hitting you."

Ruby glared at her then turned and walked away from Esdeath who sat down and stared into the distance trying to understand the pit-like feeling in her gut

**(o)**

Qrow let out a sigh and looked over to Glynda "Whats the plan now?" Qrow asked as Tai walked up to them

"The last transport it leaving, we should get to Patch, the people who were evacuated are already getting set up there, and Beacon is in need of evacuation too." Tai said with a sigh

"We need to get to Beacon." Glynda countered as she placed her hand on his shoulder "You need to make sure these people get to safety." Glynda added earning a slow nod from Tai

"Hey! Whats the plan now?" Ruby asked as she ran up to them

"Me and Glynda are going to Beacon to help out there. Tais' going to help escort people to Patch. Wheres Esdeath at?" Qrow answered as he looked around then

Ruby let out a sigh and gestured over her shoulder to the rooftop she was just on, Qrow nodded and walked in that direction while Ruby was caught up on what the specifics of the plan were

**(o)**

The elevator door opened and the four rushed out into the vault

"Whats the plan?" Akame asked as they ran

"Pyrrha has a choice to make." Ozpin answered as they neared the pods at the other end of the vault, Akame looked to Pyrrha

"Shes already here, does she really have a choice anymore?" Akame asked as the rumbling from above continued

"Of course, that's why you're here too." Ozpin answered as they came to a stop, Ozpin turned to Pyrrha who looked at the ground for a few moments before slowly nodding, she then turned and walked up to the empty pod, she looked it over then lied down inside of it as the door of it closed in front of her, after a few moments of typing Ozpin spoke

"Are you ready?" he asked looking over to her, Pyrrha nodded at him as she closed her eyes and waited "I... I need to hear you say it."

"I'm ready." Pyrrha answered, one last act of kindness before anything could changer who she was

"Thank you, Pyrrha. Akame, Jaune, keep an eye out for anyone." Ozpin ordered as he began to type on the panel again, Akame nodded and turned towards the elevator as she drew Murasame and searched the darkness around them for any movement, Jaune turned around and held his shield up in a defensive manner, his eyes darting to Akame over and over again, he had questions but they could wait until later

**(o)**

Blake blocked a kick from Adam and slid back a few feet, she had to keep pushing down her fears to keep herself from freezing

"Look around you, this is exactly what we were fighting for!" Adam shouted as he swung at her, stumbling back from the strike Blake tripped and fell, as she fell she aimed at him and fired, all the shots were quickly absorbed by Wilt much to her dismay

"This is murder! This isn't what _I_ was fighting for! I want _peace_ and _equality_!" Blake clarified as she had to do so many times in the past

"What you want is impossible!" Adam shouted as he backhanded her, Blake took that opportunity of his dropped guard to stab at him with Gambol Shroud suffering the hit Adam jumped back and growled at her

"I don't care if it is impossible. I'll still fight for it." Blake growled back as she stood and glared at him

"I never thought you'd be so delusional." Adam scoffed as he rushed her, Blake ducked under his slash and rapped Gambol Shrouds' ribbon around his legs and yanked pulling him off his feet, as he fell he turned and slashed at her sending an Aura arc from Wilt sending her into the wall behind her, dropping to her hands and knees, Blake quickly stood and glared at him as he slowly stood

"I swear, I will destroy everything you have every love for your betrayal, my love." Adam growled at her as he aimed Blush at her

**(o)**

Qrow walked up next to Esdeath who was staring off into the distance her legs hugged close to her chest as she watched Grimm burn and fall into the city

"You're not taking watch all too seriously. But then again, I guess you don't take much seriously." Qrow snarked coldly as she stood and glared at him

"What do you want." Esdeath said trying to keep her anger in check

"We're heading to Beacon to help evacuate everyone." Qrow answered "Now are you going to actually help, or are you going to stay here and do whatever the hell you're doing now." Qrow shot as he turned away and began to the edge of the roof

"I'll... sweep the city for survivors." Esdeath said quietly as she walked in the opposite direction, Qrow rolled his eyes and transformed flying away towards Beacon, he knew that meant that she needed to kill anything and everything around her for a while

**(o)**

Akame heard a scream of pain from behind her, turning around Akame saw Ozpin with a very guilty look on his face watching as Pyrrha seized up as she screamed, Jaune dropped his defenses and ran over to her looking for some way to help, as he moved Akames' instincts screamed at her to attack, turning around Akame slashed an arrow in half but as it split it reformed on the other side of Murasame then continued into the heart of the current Fall maiden, quickly turning towards the attacker Akame rushed to attack

"Wait don't!" Ozpin shouted as a wave of energy shot off Amber to Cinder, Cinder smirked and orange energy exploded off of her throwing Akame away from her, quickly recovering Akame landed on her feet and glared at Cinder who smiled back at her, Pyrrha threw the door off the pod and sent it at Cinder too who easily defected it, rushing to attack she was blocked by Ozpins' arm

"Take Jaune and get out of here, find Glynda, Esdeath, Qrow, tell them to come here right away. The tower cannot fall." Ozpin ordered as he turned to Cinder

"But, we can help-" Pyrrha began but was interrupted by Akame

"You'll just get yourselves killed." Akame calmly said as she walked up next to Ozpin "Live to fight another day." Akame added as Ozpin flipped his cane and dropped into a fighting stance, and she lowered into an aggressive stance, Jaune and Pyrrha ran past the three towards the elevator

"This whole time, right beneath our feet. She was right about you; such arrogance." Cinder taunted as she smiled at them

"Attack when you see an opening." Ozpin ordered as he vanished in a blur of green and slammed into Cinder who blocked his strike, Akame watched as the two vanished and reappeared a few times, each strike they landed on the other caused the ground to shake, focusing all her Aura into her movements Akame rushed and slashed at Cinder who caught the blade and kicked Ozpin away from her, planting her feet on Cinders chest Akame kicked off of her yanking Murasame out of her hand, but it felt like she was drawing it from a sheath, she couldn't break skin. She had to do this the old fashioned way, thanks to her aura slowly starting to drain, spinning Akame tried to kick Cinder in the jaw but her foot stopped instantly as she struck Cinders' forearm, before Cinder couldn't capitalize on the position due to Ozpin rushing in and jabbed her with his cane in a blur of movements sending her sliding away, as she slid to a stop she summoned dozens of spears of glass then sent them at Akame, who jumped back and slashed them all to pieces noting that her body was followed by the red blur of her Aura, Cinder stumbled back as she tried to block a massive series of jabs from Ozpin but failed and as she stumbled back Ozpin cocked back his arm and punched her in the jaw sending her away from him, Akame jumped up onto one of the pillars and kicked off and attempted to slash Cinder but was stopped by a wave of fire that launched from Cinders' hand slamming into her and sending her through multiple pillars, slamming roughly into the ground Akame felt her Aura shatter and darkness quickly overtake her.

**(o)**

Winter stabbed a Beowolf and jumped back dodging a slash from its fading arm, turning around she looked to the exhausted solders and police that she gathered, their current location wasn't the best suited for evacuation but she knew that she had to be strong for them but her Aura was almost completely out, and she had to deal with a growing horde of Grimm, even though the ships began to fire again the Grimm were still moving in, hearing their howls from the group of beast in front of her, Winter looked to the frightened men and woman behind her, she took a deep breath and sheathed her blade closing her eyes she focused every last fiber of her being into her Aura, then her glyph's, finally her summoning; with great effort she focused on her greatest fallen foe, forcing the Sphinx she killed when Esdeath first took her out on a hunt, it looked to her then the Grimm before them, with a roar it charged the advancing horde, clawing the beasts to pieces it halted their advance briefly a few Beowolves got through and charged her, quickly drawing her blade she ducked under one and stabbed the one that followed it as it slashed her arm, with a grunt of pain Winter spun and slashed at the other Beowolf which dodged the strike and tackled her, stabbing one of its hands and elbowing the other away from her it lurched forward to bite her throat but suffered a punch from Winter stunning it briefly, looking around she caught gimps of a shard of brick, quickly reaching over to it she grabbed it and stabbed the Beowolfs' eye killing it and turning it to dust, getting to her feet she saw a few solders grab their guns and move to attack positions, with a sigh Winter grabbed her blade from the ground and separated it into two, as she waited for any to make it past the Sphinx and the cover fire the solders were giving

**(o)**

the airship landed; Ruby and Glynda rushed out and quickly began getting injured in it then sent it on its way

"Glynda!" Ports voice came as he walked over to them

"Peter, good to see you're okay." Glynda sighed and she pulled him into a hug which they quickly broke

"There are still a few students missing, Bart went to see if he could find them." Port answered, Glynda turned towards the intensive care tent that was set up nearby and walked to it, as Ruby and him began to move the wounded onto airbuses

"Wheres my team?" Ruby asked as she grabbed one end of a stretcher and port grabbed the other

"Ms. Schnee is fine. Shes currently tending to those who's wounds need to be sown up." Port answered as they walked onto an airbus filled with wounded people

"What about Yang and Blake?" Ruby asked as she felt some pride towards Weiss for making use of her skills

"They are two of the ones that Professor Oobleck is looking for." Port answered

"To be fair Port; the school is in shambles, I don't think we need to use professional language right now." Ruby commented earning a quick laugh from Port

"I suppose you're right. But I still wish it weren't so." Port added sadly as they lowered the stretcher into a free spot on the bus

"Me too." Ruby agreed with a sigh that conveyed how exhausted she was

"I just wish we could do more, but that is the fate of every huntsman." Port said with a sigh, he then looked to Ruby and spoke in a far more serious tone then she ever heard from him before "I may ramble on in my class Ruby but if there is anything you need to know the truth about its this; no matter how many people you save you will always feel like you could have done more."

"That has become painfully clear today. I have failed a lot of people in one day alone... but that's a good thing, now I can learn from it and do better." Ruby agreed with a weak smile, for the first time in almost three weeks she didn't have to force it

Port nodded at her words as they lifted another stretcher "That is very true, and if you keep that philosophy then you will more than likely become the greatest huntress to ever grace the world."

"Resident general notwithstanding?" Ruby snarked earning a laugh from Port

"While the general is a great warrior she isn't a huntress, nor is Akame, they both hold an air around them that says that they are solders, not huntsman." Port clarified earning a raised eyebrow from Ruby

"What do you mean? they fight the Grimm like we do." Ruby asked clearly not understanding, she nearly tripped as they entered the air bus again

"They fight Grimm yes, but at the end of the day they will save themselves first, and others second. A huntsman lives a life of sacrifice Ruby, a solder lives a life of service. The difference is that a solder will sacrifice what is necessary to win even if its a life. But a huntsman will sacrifice themselves for others with little thought, the purpose of huntsman are to make sacrifices so no one else has to." Port explained as they set down the stretcher, Ruby now had a lot more to think about after this was all over, after exiting the air bus Weiss ran up to her and hugged her

"Glynda told me that you made it here! I'm so happy you're okay." Weiss said as Ruby returned the gesture

"I'm glad to see you too, have you seen Yang, Blake, or Akame?" Ruby quickly asked as she separated them

"No, not after we had to retreat from the tower, but Jaune and Pyrrha are with Ozpin and Akame right now. From what Ren and Nora told me." Weiss answered earning a sigh of relief from Ruby, as long as Akame was with them, the fall maiden was safe and so was the relic, a ringing brought her from thought, looking to Weiss she answered it

"Jaune! Where are you-"

"WEISS! You have to save Pyrrha! Shes at the top of the tower! Trying to stop that woman she doesn't stand a chance!" Jaune hastily said

"Jaune where are you!?" Weiss asked as she looked to Ruby in surprise

"DONT WORRY ABOUT ME! Please you have to save Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted at her

"We will, are you alright?" Weiss asked again trying to make sure he was safe, all they heard from the other end before it cut out was a shout of rage

"Jaune?" Weiss asked as she looked from the scroll to Ruby

"Let move!" Ruby ordered as she and Weiss began to move, but she turned to Port as she backed away "Well be back soon." Ruby told him which he nodded in return and quickly moved to continue to help others

**(o)**

Esdeath shouted in rage as she carved up another Beowolf and left it limbless but alive as she searched for more things to brutalize, she froze over a large part of the city in her rage and slaughtered hundreds of Grimm that were unfortunate enough to get in her path, some she even lectured in hopes that Salem would know and fear her, after a while her rage subsided but she couldn't stop replaying the events in her head; she hit Ruby, it wasn't practice, it wasn't training, it was anger, but this new feeling wouldn't go away, it was like she had a pit in her stomach that just kept getting deeper, she never felt this before, and all she could recall right now was how Rubys' eyes seemed to lose all care for her, it was a mistake that she wanted to desperately correct, her mind finally settled on the emotion she was feeling; guilt, it had to be. She never felt like this before, such a horrible thing.

Walking down an alleyway a Creep leapt trying to bite her, as she pulled out her scroll Esdeath punched it killing it instantly as she searched for Rubys' contact, she then stopped, Ruby probably didn't want to talk to her right now, she had no right contacting her, with a sigh Esdeath closed her scroll and returned it to her pocket as she made her way out of the alleyway she was greeted by a pleasant sight, she saw Winter and a few solders of hers barely holding the tide of Grimm coming their way, walking over to them she waved her hand raining spears of ice on the beasts, quickly thinning the ranks and forcing them to retreat

"General!" Winter breathed out as she collapsed to the ground letting the Sphinx vanish too, walking up to her Esdeath picked up her weapons and reformed them to one before putting it back down

Esdeath pulled out her scroll and pressed a few buttons then shouted out to her solders "Men, its time to head back to the ship, you've all done your part. Any of you who wish to continue to help, you have two choices; firstly you could head to Patch and help set up the displacement zone, secondly you could go to Beacon and help evacuate the students and civilians." Esdeath called to them as she began to walk towards the regrouping Grimm

**(o)**

Qrow landed near the safe zone, and began towards the tower, as he avoided Grimm he stopped when he saw Oobleck carrying both Blake and Yang

"QROW! Perfect timing! Help me with them." Oobleck ordered quickly, moving to his side Qrow pulled Yang off of him and noted that she had one arm, his heart sunk when he thought of what Tai was going to do once he found out

"What happened?" Qrow asked as they moved, Yang's stump was rapped so the bleeding was slowed but not stopped, a screech could be heard over head, both huntsman looked up and watched as the Wyvern flew head first into the top of the tower destroying the CCTS, that forced both to pause, global communication was now destroyed, quickly removing their fears with practiced thoughts they began towards their objective again

"I don't know, I just found the two like this, they seemed to be heading to the the tower, that's where the original defenses were set up, so we can assume they were running from something." Oobleck turned his attention away from the sight and spoke calmly, as they began to get closer to the safe zone

"Right, but their wounds don't look like they were caused by Grimm." Qrow added earning a nod from Oobleck

"That's correct, the White Fang have been spotted in the school, perhaps it was a high ranking member of the organization." Oobleck speculated as they got within spitting distance of the safe zone, Qrow stopped and Oobleck turned to him

"Here, you take them the rest of the way, I'll look for anyone else." Qrow quickly said as he held Yang out to him, Oobleck looked like he wanted to say something but stayed silent, Qrow sighed and ran off in a different direction

**(o)**

Ruby landed at the top of the tower and looked around, her eyes quickly locked onto Pyrrha as an arrow flew and pierced her chest, they shared a quick look as both processed what they were seeing, Ruby blinked a few times at the sight before her, Pyrrha struggled to try and make some sound, Cinder walked up to her and placed her hand on the side of her head using her power to turn her to ashes

"I figured I would have to hunt you down." Cinder said as she dropped Pyrrhas' headdress to the ground and turned to Ruby

"I..." Ruby tried to speak but nothing seemed to be appropriate

"If you're morning the death of that girl, don't. Shes not worth the effort." Cinder commented as she summoned a pair of blades and began towards Ruby who's breathing was growing faster by the second, her head began to pound and her eyes began to burn, the Wyvern climbed up behind her. She was trapped, a single thought kept repeating in her head 'how could she protect anyone if she couldn't protect herself?' and in a blinding flash of light Ruby heard a scream of pain from the dragon behind her

**(o)**

Qrow landed on the tower, looking around he saw Ruby lying at the center of the tower holding Pyrrhas' headdress in one hand, and a bloody dagger of ice in the other, she was surrounded by a _lot_ of blood, quickly moving over to her Qrow picked her up and looked up at the now stone Wyvern

"I gotcha kiddo, I gotcha." Qrow whispered to Ruby as she seemed to be on the verge of panic, it seemed like she heard his words, because she relaxed a bit, lifting her into his arms, Qrow walked to the edge of the tower and drew Harbinger, then leapt off and stabbed it into the side of the tower, yanked it free he dropped a few feet then stabbed it in again, he did that until he reached the ground

**(o)**

Hours later back on Patch, the sun had risen again and the solders had to stop their assault on Vale to regroup, Esdeath said it should take three days to take back Vale at most, but Qrow really wasn't in the mood for listening to her, right now he was sitting in the living room of the house, Tai was upstairs taking care of Ruby and Yang. Qrow looked at the empty spot next to him then grabbing another bottle from the table in front of him, Qrow drank every last drop of Bourbon left in the bottle, usually he was able to keep his head on straight but all evidence pointed to Akame being... Ripping his thoughts from that he stood and walked outside, the only thought that kept running through his mind was 'she deserved better that the end she got.'.

Quickly growing angry at himself he let out a growl as he stormed off to town he didn't want to be around family right now. Qrow walked into the first bar he found and ordered a drink, when the bartender brought it to him he downed it and ordered another, that went on for a few moments before the bartender left him with the bottle, he drank until he couldn't see straight, stumbling outside he fell down in the gutter and closed his eyes, he's thoughts were of nothing but Akame, he didn't want them to be of her but that's all he found his mind going to, so his sleep was plagued by endless thoughts of a person who trusted him, and he failed.

**A/N And the fall of Beacon is over. I didn't include all of the fight between Adam and Blake because I want to save it for the next two chapters, and I didn't include Ruby vs Cinder because that's going to be shown later. I should mention that I didn't feel that the fall of Beacon needed to last for more that two chapters. But I will say that I have a simple way of looking at battles like this, if you want to know my thought process on it its below. **

**When it come to large scale battles like this, you cant focus on it as a whole or else it'll lose its impact, so you have to focus on three different things; firstly, the battle itself, when people are fighting and panicking, secondly is side dependent, if you're POV is the attackers you have it focus on them maintaining their attack force and pushing, or if you're the defenders, you have to focus on where they set up their defenses and how well they are holding, and finally the aftermath, when people are getting the bodies or wounded to a safe place, and how those people react, that's how I feel large scale battles should be conducted in writing, otherwise I feel like it gets drawn out too much.**


	11. Kill the Aftermath

Qrow stood and looked around, his head was pounding and his vision was slightly blurred, walking down the street he looked into the sky, it was very almost noon and nothing had changed, Beacon was still gone, and so was Akame. Drawing his flask Qrow drank from it feeling his body want to reject it he forced it down knowing eventually the pain would go away with it. Exiting Patch Qrow slowly walked down the dirt path towards Tais' house, he was tired but he still had family that needed him. Drawing his flask again Qrow took another drink as he arrived at the entrance to their property, much to his displeasure Esdeath was standing there

"Good morning Qrow." Esdeath greeted warmly, Qrow just glared at her "No need to be rude, I have business here." Esdeath commented as she held out a tattered leather trench coat to him "This was found near Beacon tower by some of the scouts I sent. I felt you would want it." Esdeath explained, Qrow took it carefully after memorizing every detail of it he spoke

"I'll be leaving soon." Qrow said his voice was empty of anything causing Esdeath to scrunch her eyebrow

"What happened to your fire? You always spoke with such a certainty, where'd that go?" Esdeath asked as they began towards the house

"I've lost so many people, I'm sick of it. But I still have a job to do. Ozpin is gone, Beacon is destroyed, Akame is... Someone has to keep looking for Salems' forces and try to stop them. That's what I'm doing." Qrow answered his voice unchanged from before

"While I'd like to help, James has ordered that after Vale is reclaimed that my fleet is to move to Mistral for a few months and make sure everything is secure there." Esdeath said as they walked up to the door and Qrow opened it and walked in quickly followed by Esdeath

"Finally I don't have to see you." Qrow commented coldly as he walked over to the couch and grabbed one of the numerous bottles he didn't finish and downed all its contents

"I don't suppose you'd stop if I told you to." Esdeath commented as Qrow grabbed another bottle and drank from it "How are Ruby and Yang?" Esdeath finally asked causing Qrow to lower the bottle from his lips

"I think they're still out, Tai's been taking care of them, but Yang should be waking up soon enough." Qrow answered then went back to drinking, Esdeath sighed and began to make her way upstairs

**(o)**

It was quiet, that's what stood out, opening her eyes she sat up and looked around it was almost pitch black, she was thirst, hungry, and tried, licking her lips Akame stood and began to check her body for wounds, she was fine, picking up Murasame she looked over its blade, it was mostly fine but was dirty and in desperate need of sharpening, next was Due Process, pulling it from her belt she looked it over, it was fine but also dirty. Looking around she saw mostly nothing due to the darkness but she did catch sight of a glint, moving over to it she found that it was one of the pods it was broken and sparking, one of the pods was caved in and it looked like something was wedged inside of it, walking over to it she recognized it as a charred corpse, in its hand was Ozpins' cane, with a sigh she grabbed the weapon her vision was enveloped by a bright shine of green

**(\\_/)**

_Quickly looking around Akame saw that she was standing in Ozpins' office, the man was sitting in front of her with a smile on his face_

"_I'm assuming Akame was the one who activated this." Ozpin said and smiled at her but it was obvious that he couldn't see her_

"_What is going on?" Akame asked looking out of the tower at Amity_

"_This is an ability of all Aura users, when one feels great emotion towards an object or a person, such things can manifest in the effect of a memory, my memory currently." Ozpin answered causing Akame to do a double take "I assume that's the question you would ask, again, this is based on if Akame is the one to touch my cane next. The down side of this ability is that it only happens once for one person indiscriminately, so if Qrow were to grab my cane then this would be a very awkward turn of events that would make little sense to him and make me look like an idiot." Ozpin finished earning a nod from Akame_

"_So you are dead." Akame commented as she sat on his desk and studied his face in an attempt to memorize every detail_

"_On to the reason this is happening; whoever has taken my cane, you must fine either Qrow Branwen, or Akame Branwen, they are the two that I would trust with such a valuable item." Ozpin said then spun around and stared out the window "But operating under the assumption that it is Akame who has taken my cane, please keep it with you, until it is asked for." Ozpin finished as he smiled at the view of the world he helped build "Until then farewell. my friend." Ozpin finished as he clicked the lever on his cane causing it to collapse, Akame watched as his eyes jumped to her for a brief moment as he placed the object in his lap, as soon as his fingers released it the vision ended_

**(o)**

Akame stared at the cane in her hands, before moving her index finger to the lever and pulled causing the cane to collapse into itself, placing it near her belt she felt it pull itself to the metal on it holding it tightly in place, with a sigh, Akame turned and began in the opposite direction, towards the elevator

**(o)**

Qrow stared at the tattered coat in his hands, he couldn't bring himself to let go of it, its kinda like when Summer died, Tai just held onto everything she left behind and stared at it for hours while Qrow took care of the kids, it seemed so stupid back then... but now. His scroll rang pulling him from thought, drawing it from his pocket Qrow looked at the contact it read 'Akame', he felt his heart skip a beat when he read it, answering the call he heard some static but a voice cut through it

"Father?" her voice was like a breath of fresh air even if it was plagued by static

"Where you at kid?" Qrow asked immediately, his voice quickly regaining the fire it once had

"Beacon tower, there's too many Grimm out there for me to fight with so little Aura, I was hoping you could help with that." Akame answered, Qrow let out a sigh of relief

"Right, I'll make my way over there and cause as much of a disturbance as possible. Stay safe until then." Qrow agreed he quickly stood and ran out the door transformed and flew as quickly as he could towards Beacon

**(o)**

Esdeath sat and stared at Ruby's sleeping form, there were so many things she wanted to say and apologize for, placing her hand on Rubys' cheek she wanted to reverse what she did, most of the time she wouldn't have cared if she hit another, but Ruby was different, if she lost her... if she lost her than there wasn't anything worth living for in this life

"Hey, if you're going to stay there you should at least help take care of her." Tais' voice came from the doorway, looking over to him Esdeath spoke

"What do you want me to do for her?" Esdeath asked as she looked her over

"Since she hasn't been moved in about twenty minutes, move her to a different position." Tai answered as he turned and left, Esdeath turned her attention back to Ruby and pulled the blanket off of her then began to shift her position

**(o)**

Yang gasped as she sat up and quickly looked around then at her hands... hand. Covering her mouth she felt bile worm its way up her throat, leaning off the bed she vomited on the floor

"YANG!" she heard her fathers voice come from the doorway, quickly he ran to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"I'm... fine." Yang answered after taking another look at her arm "I feel dizzy."

"Yeah... that makes sense." Tai commented he then changed the subject "Esdeaths' here, shes watching over Ruby right now."

"What about Qrow and Akame? Weiss? Blake? Wheres the rest of our team?" Yang quickly asked causing Tai to look down

"Qrow is... Qrow's lost right now. Akame... it doesn't look like she survived." Tai answered causing Yangs' eyes to widen she then closed them to fight tears "Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father, and your friend; Sun I think his name was, said that Blake ran off after making sure you all were okay."

"She... ran?" Yang asked looking at her hand again as she clenched it and loosened it over and over again

"Everyone is panicking, maybe she feels guilty? I don't know, but all that matters is that you are okay." Tai downplayed as he pulled her into a hug, Yang didn't say anything she just froze for a few moments before relaxing

**(o)**

"COME ON YOU BASTARDS!" Qrow shouted as he cut through another Beowolf, he was "I'M MEAN, AND I'M LOST, AND OUT FOR BLOOD! COME AT ME!" Qrow added as he flipped over an Ursa and landed on the back of a Death stalker which tried to attack him with its stinger, Qrow dodged it and stabbed Harbinger through its bone armor killing it kicking off of it he looked at the main road from Beacon to the airdocks, it was clear, so he could assume that Akame was able to make her escape easily now, but he wanted to make sure. Qrow fired a round at a crowd of creeps that rushed him killing quite a few of them, running from the horde he had amassed Qrow drew his scroll and called Akame

"You out yet?" Qrow asked after she answered

"Yeah, I made my way into the forests near the cliff." Akame answered

"Got it, I'll ditch these guys and make my way over there, keep moving along the cliff side towards Vale its not in our control right now so be careful." Qrow said as he dodged a slash from a Beowolf

"Got it see you soon." Akame agreed and hung up. Qrow turned his attention back to the massive horde of Grimm chasing him, he let out a sigh as he took off towards Beacon cliff he had a few ideas for the catapults there

**(o)**

Blake looked at the city she once called home, now it was anything but a safe place for her. Everything was all her fault, looking down at the concrete dock beneath her feet she let out a sigh, so again she was forced to leave behind everything she cared about

"I'm just saying it doesn't make any sense! Why do we gotta make our way all the way down here! They already have Esdeath." Blake heard a loud voice call, looking over she caught sight of a group of Atlas specialists

"Well Esdeath might not be enough, so General Ironwood felt that our aid would be helpful in evening out the work load." the leader answered with a shrug

"Yeah Marrow, use what little brainpower you got in there." commented another of them, she was shorter then the others but the way her eyes moved showed that she was jumpier than them, quickly turning away from them Blake began to make her way towards the newly docked ship bound for Three Point; its a large town on the eastern side of Sanus, its one of the only places that ships from Menagerie actually docked at, so that was her objective, placing her had over the slowly healing wound on her gut she let out a sigh filled with both regret and fear, fear of what Adam would do to her if he caught her, and fear of what Akame would do if she was still alive

**(o)**

Esdeath looked at Rubys sleeping body and stood, there was nothing more she could do for her, turning she walked out the door and began down the hall but stopped when she saw Yang staring out the window

"Finally awake?" Esdeath asked as she entered the room, Yang looked from the window to her but didn't speak

"It seems that you and your team have lost much, but you are still alive. That means you can still fight." Esdeath continued as she walked over to Yangs' desk and grabbed the chair from it then walked back over to Yangs' bed and sat the chair facing her and sat down

"My offer still stands. Are you really going to let the loss of your arm get in the way of growing stronger?" Esdeath questioned, Yangs' eyes flashed red briefly causing Esdeath to smirk at her "It doesn't look like it to me, you are strong Yang, but you lack focus, you are a blade that needs to be sharpened. I'm happy to lend you a hand with that."

"I... want to get stronger..." Yang spoke her voice shaking a bit "But-"

"No." Esdeath cutting her off "You cant want something, then give a reason not to do it. You want to get stronger, period. I will make you stronger." Esdeath corrected causing Yang to nod she then spoke again "Once Vale is back under control, you'll be coming with me, is that understood?" Esdeath ordered

"Yes ma'am." Yang agreed as she looked out the window again "Why does it feel like I just sold my soul?" Yang asked coldly

"Perhaps you did, perhaps its the trepidation you are finally feeling for taking your first steps towards your true purpose." Esdeath answered as she stood "What _did_ happen to you? I have a few reports, and my own theories. But I'd like to know the truth."

"The White Fang had someone stronger than me and Blake on their side, I don't know who, but he had red hair and it was like his eyes burned like fire, he wore black and red, he used a red bladed Katana and the sheath was a gun."

"Adam Taurus. I was interested in getting him into my army, we have had a couple run-ins- well, 'we' as in; my army. I haven't met him on the battlefield before but if I do I'll make sure to leave him alive so you can have a chance to take from him what he took from you." Esdeath answered earning a shocked look from Yang "Why do you look so shocked?"

"Its just... I don't understand you. How can you be so evil but... generous?" Yang asked trying to comprehend the enigma in front of her

"I thought Akame taught you this; there's no such thing as evil or good. I don't need anything more than battle, so long as I can have that I need nothing else." Esdeath explained as she turned to the door

"What about Ruby?" Yang asked finally feeling certainty come back into her life

"I'll talk with Qrow, and we'll go from there." Esdeath avoided "Regardless of what happens with her, you will be coming with me. Adam will fear you, and when you finally take back everything he took from you-" Esdeath turned back to her and smiled, it was sadistic but seemed to be hiding something behind it "- I want you to look him in the eyes and tell him its because he is weak. That should completely destroy him." Yang looked at her arm then the stump, she then got from bed and looked over to Esdeath who raised an eyebrow at her

"I think we should start now." Yang commented as she began towards the door, Esdeath hummed and swung at Yang who moved to block it but was too slow and suffered a punch to the jaw causing her to fall

"No, you need a little more rest." Esdeath denied earning a groan from Yang "Wait a while longer and get used to not having an arm, after that we'll begin your training. But I should warn you, what I've already put you through will seem like child's play in comparison."

**(o)**

the red leaves were beginning to fall from the trees it was peaceful here, and one of Summers favorite locations near Vale, but Qrow wasn't concerned by that right now, he needed to find Akame. Running deeper into the forest Qrow kept scanning for her, he would fly but the density of the trees here was preventing him from seeing through the canopy so on foot was the only thing he could do right now

"Akame!" Qrow shouted as he looked around again, nothing, with a sigh Qrow sprinted off in another direction, she had to be somewhere around here. Ducking under a Beowolves claw he slid to a stop and spoke

"Haven't seen a girl with red eyes and black hair have you?" Qrow asked as it charged him "I'll take that as a no." Qrow commented as he cut the beast in half, turning around he was nearly slashed by an Ursa but it turned to dust before the hit could land

"Are you okay!?" Akame asked as she looked him over, Qrow scoffed at that as he looked her over, she was covered in soot, dirt, and her clothes had minor burns, rips and tears, and some minor holes in them

"Are you sure you should be asking me that?" Qrow asked with a smirk, Akame rolled her eyes and quickly hugged him, Qrow returned it, he didn't want to let go of her again, just in case this wasn't real

"Father?" Akame asked after what felt like a minute or so

"We all thought you were dead. I'm really glad you aren't." Qrow answered the obvious question she was asking

"I'm sorry I scared you." Akame apologized as he slowly released her and they began walking in the general direction of the coast, towards Patch

"Don't worry about it, so long as you keep coming back I'm fine. Just try not to give me any more heart attacks. Okay?" Qrow waved off earning a smile from Akame

"I got it... so how are we going to get to Patch? Its not like we have a boat, and I doubt that ferries are running." Akame asked as they walked

"Well you do have an Atlas military scroll, Right?" Qrow asked as he looked over to her

"It died." Akame answered, Qrow grinned at that and held her coat out to her, taking it she looked it over and hummed "I guess it still works." Akame commented as she pulled it over she shoulders letting the tattered coat rest on her

"I'll give Esdeath a call then, see if she can get us a lift." Qrow commented as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll, he pressed a few buttons on it

"Hey- what do you mean... how would I- look that doesn't matter right now I need a lift, I'm in Forever Fall- because I'm not alone. Turns out you're assumption of Akame being not alive was wrong... Just get us a transport." Akame let out a sigh and sat down after Qrow finished his conversation

"Whats the plan now?" she asked looking to him for answers

"Right... well considering you have Ozs' cane I should tell you; Ozpin may have died but he's still out there, I don't know how, he never told us anything other than 'its punishment for my past failings.' so just hold onto that for now, Oz'll find us, and we gotta start making moves toward Mistral." Qrow explained earning a raised eyebrow from Akame

"I saw his corpse, how could he still be out there?" Akame questioned as they sat down in the nearby clearing

"Well that's his body, from what Oz said when his body dies his consciousness transfers to someone else and they take his place with his past experience." Qrow explained earning a shocked look from Akame

"I don't... I think that's... are you sure we can trust him?" Akame asked clearly uncomfortable by the thought

"That's just what Oz told me, he could explain it better but... you know... he can't really tell you how this all works now. Once we find him, he'll explain it. And hopefully have a better plan then me." Qrow waved off earning a concerned look from Akame

"I'll reserve my judgment until I hear what he has to say then." Akame commented earning a nod from Qrow

**(\\_/)**

_Ruby opened her eyes and looked around, sitting up she noted that she was sitting on a couch_

"_Good morning, you've been out for a few days." a voice came from over her shoulder, quickly jumping to her feet and turning she saw Chelsea smiling at her_

"_I... died?" Ruby asked watching Chelseas' hands, just encase she wants to inject her with something again_

"_Nope, but something strange happened to you." Chelsea commented looking her up and down_

"_What are you talking about?" Ruby asked and looked at her hands noting that they were glowing white_

"_Well you're glowing, and I can see through your clothes." Chelsea commented causing Ruby to blush and cover herself_

"_Kidding, any who, you gotta stop nearly dying. If you don't then were gonna have to start putting you to work." Chelsea added with a laugh causing Ruby to growl at her_

"_So... do you have any idea how long I'll be here this time?" Ruby asked as she sat back down and Chelsea walked around the couch and sat down next to her_

"_Nope, but I'll see about getting someone from town to come and see you if you're still around after today." Chelsea answered as she propped her feet up on the table_

"_Chelsea! We're back!" Tatsumis' voice came from out front, Chelsea stood and walked over to the door and locked it, a few seconds later there was a bang and the sound of two things dropping_

"_Ow! Dammit! Why would you tell her!? she does this every time!" Lubbocks' voice came from directly in front of the door_

"_Well you keep falling for it so... meh." Tatsumi shot back "Besides I saw you creeping on Aegwynn, leave her alone dude I don't know what it is about her but she frightens me."_

"_Well that makes one of us! She has a rockin' bod dude." Lubbock shouted in desperation, Ruby and Chelsea shared a look and Chelsea quickly unlocked the door and opened it causing Lubbock to collapse and bang his head on the ground then tried to sneak a peak up Chelseas' skirt, he failed and earned a kick for his trouble._

**(o)**

Esdeath growled as she read the report sent by James, apparently he thought that sending the Ace Ops was a good idea, but he didn't take into account how much she hated them, crumpling the paper Esdeath threw it into the garbage can next to her

"General." greeted Clover happily as he strolled into her office, Esdeath rolled her eyes and turned to greet him

"Clover!- feel free to leave." Esdeath commented coldly as she crossed her arms, Clover laughed dryly at that

"Working with you isn't our favorite thing either, but orders are orders." Clover waved off casually earning a scoff from Esdeath

"I'm still not a fan of dog sitting, so if you would kindly ship yourselves back to Atlas, I could enjoy the last few days of this operation." Esdeath shot coldly earning an awkward laugh from Clover

"Well that _could_ have been an option if there weren't broadcasts all across _the world_ of your ships halting their fire, so General Ironwood wants us to make sure you don't pull a stunt like that again."

Esdeath scoffed at that "James is so ignorant, perhaps it wasn't the best choice on my part but if he honestly believes that you all can keep me 'in line' than hes delusional."

"I've also come to inform you that you are the new headmistress of Atlas academy. If you hadn't stopped your barrage you probably could have gotten the military seat too. I should also tell you that your army is going to Mistral to make sure its secure, but you're going to Atlas, general Ironwood wants you to defend yourself in front of a military council." Clover said as he turned to the door and began towards it

"If you really want to make your team useful get to the docks in Vale and help securing its defenses." Esdeath ordered earning a nod from the man as he left

"I truly hate that man." Esdeath commented as she turned back to the window, she may have failed to gain the military seat but she could now control the minds of the children that enter her academy, with a smirk she began to make a plan for when she returned and how she'll get out of punishment

**(o)**

Clover let out a sigh after the door shut behind him "That woman scares me." he commented as he began down the hall of the ship towards his teams current location

**(o)**

Yang pushed herself up, then let herself slowly fall, she repeated this motion a few more times before dropping and letting out a sigh, push ups used to be easy, but now it felt a lot harder, sitting against her bed she covered her eyes, her mind kept going back to the events the led to the loss of her arm

**(\\_/)**

_Blake was slammed into the ground as Adam slammed Wilts' pommel into her cheek just as she hit the ground Adam spun Wilt and stabbed down at her heart moving quickly Blake tried to dodge but still caught the blade in her gut causing her to scream in pain, Yang's eye twitched as she pushed the table off of her; her ally was hurt, because she was too slow, diving to attack time seemed to slow as she drew closer, the only thing she could clearly remember was how his smile looked, it wasn't like Esdeaths' sadism, it was pure anger and lust and nothing else, his movements were faster than hers, but her eyes could follow as he sheathed his blade he began to glow red as he lifted the blade over his head then drew it allowing the momentum of the draw to carry the blade down and through her arm ripping it from her body, as he spun to remove her head next, she felt a sudden tug pull her away from him, and everything went dark_

**(o)**

With as stuttered sigh Yangs' eyes snapped open and she looked around her room, getting to her feet she walked downstairs, as she moved she could hear voices, once she reached the bottom of the stairs she felt her heart skip, in the living room scarfing down ungodly amounts of food was Akame, Qrow was happily watching while he and her father were talking

"Akame?" Yang asked earning no reply from the girl in question but she did get the attention of Qrow and her dad

"Good to see you walkin' around firecracker." Qrow commented "Turns out shes alive. Me, her, and Ruby need to talk about a few things, once she wakes up too." Qrow added as he watched Akame continue to eat

"I'm still trying to figure out how she is stomaching your cooking. Its like she has no taste buds." Tai commented causing Akame to stop eating briefly and shoot him a glance before continuing

"I don't get it either but apparently she likes my cooking." Qrow shrugged Akame ignored him

"Hey! Why do I get the stink eye but he gets nothing!?" Tai questioned in outrage

"Because he's my father. Why would I argue?" Akame questioned after swallowing

"Jeez, are you sure your semblance isn't good fortune? 'Cause it looks like you don't have to deal with any of the crap that comes with teenagers." Tai snarked as he turned to Qrow causing the man to sigh

"Pretty sure. 'Cause Akame has caused me more heart attacks than Summer." Qrow snarked back as he glared at Tai

"I'm sorry." Akame apologized as she stopped eating and bowed to him

"Pfft, kid you might scare the shit out of me but the pay off is beyond worth it." Qrow waved off as he walked over and ran his hand through her hair(headpat) "Besides, I cant imagine life without you anymore, so you're stuck with me." Qrow added as he sat next to her, with a smile she leaned on him

"Not to ruin the happy family moment but... I'm kinda hungry." Yang spoke earning their attention again

"You can have some of-" Akame began but was interrupted by Tai

"Yeah no, you may liked that... stuff. But Yang would probably lose her stomach from that." Tai interrupted earning another glare from Akame

"That's possible, but it should at least be tried once." Akame reasoned coldly as she looked over to Yang hopefully

"Um... while I'd agree with that. Tai cant keep my cooking down for more than a minute, and if Yang's anything like him..." Qrow trailed off earning a shutter from Tai, Akame looked at Yang who shrugged

"I've never had Qrows' cooking before, I guess I should give it a shot at the very least." Yang said with a shrug as she walked over and went to grab the fork from Akame but noticed that she reached with her right arm, that earned pause from everyone but Akame

"Wrong hand." Akame commented as she guided Yangs' left hand to the fork

"How are you taking this so easily?" Yang asked after taking a bit of the food

"Well it's not like losing a limb can stop you from growing stronger, and from what I can see you're already prepared to keep fighting, the fire in you eyes is dim but it still burns, I cant tell if its because of spite or you found a new reason to keep fighting but I know that it'll drive you to greater heights of strength." Akame explained as Yang paled and held her throat and began to violently cough

"Dammit." Tai said an he ran into the kitchen and cam back with a grocery bag, Akame was confused as to why he stockpiled so many but now it makes sense. Holding the bag to her which she quickly took and vomited into, with a groan she tried to tie it shut but realized that again she had one hand, Akame took the bag and tied it shut then held it out to Tai who walked into the kitchen to throw it away

Yang looked at her hand and let out a growl, Akame placed her hand on Yangs' shoulder and smiled at her

"Loss teaches strength. You are lucky to be allow to learn from it." Akame said as she stood and walked towards the stairs "I'm going to check on Ruby, father don't say anything stupid." Akame ordered as she went up the stairs, Qrow scoffed at her order

"So... how'd it feel to lose a limb?" Qrow asked after a few seconds

"Do you remember what Akame told you? 'Cause you're failing at it." Yang shot stared at the space where her hand should be "I feel like I could touch anything near me but I know that I cant. I hate it."

Qrow sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder "I know you're not gonna sit down and let some jackass with stupid hair leave you lopsided."

"How do you know he has stupid hair?" Yang asked looking to her uncle

"I didn't know. But I do now. Besides it doesn't matter, I know for a fact that Akame is furious and shes going to kill the hell out of that guy." Qrow confidently said as he rapped his arm around her shoulder, Yang hummed in agreement but felt that it was her responsibility more than anything else

**A/N Now for the aftermath of the battle, everyone is now moving towards their positions for then next volume I'm assuming that no one really expected for Vale to be lost to the Grimm, but its not going to stay that way, Esdeath has got a plan and its gonna work out, that's not the focus of this chapter or the next that's why I'm putting it here. But the downside is that because she gave into her bloodlust she lost out on becoming Reichsmarschall of the Atlas military, so she lost one of the council seats she was after, but she still got the other.**


	12. Kill the Time

**A/N This is the longest chapter yet... I will admit that the hiatus between this volume and the next will be a lot longer that before, because this one pulled a lot out of me. Over 10,000 words.**

_Ruby sat up with a sigh, looking at her hands she saw the silver glow she was giving off, standing from the couch she walked into the kitchen and surprisingly found Chelsea lying on the table reading a book while Tatsumi was cooking_

"_Morning Ruby." Chelsea greeted "So... what'd you dream 'bout?"_

"_Nothing, I closed my eyes, opened them, and walked in here, now its tomorrow." Ruby answered as she sat down and slammed her head on the table with a groan_

"_Don't worry 'bout that, its just how this world works, since you're not dead it can't properly give you your one true desire in your dreams yet." Tatsumi said as he watched what he was cooking_

"_What are you cooking?" Ruby asked as she lifted her head from the table only to find Chelsea missing_

"_Croquettes and rice." Tatsumi answered, he sounded like Akame when she was cooking, except with less enthusiasm _

"_Jeez, when Akame started living with us that's what she cooked... in mass. I don't know how I ate so much of it, but she was like a vacuum cleaner." Ruby reminisced, she wished things would have stayed that simple everything had become so complex so quickly_

"_That's actually why I cooked them today, it was the first dish me and Akame prepared together." Tatsumi commented earning a sigh from Ruby_

"_I'm not going to eat all of them if you don't finish." Ruby warned as Tatsumi added another croquette to the pan_

"_Don't worry, Chelsea is a rather heavy eater too, so I'm not worried." Tatsumi waved off as he leaned out of the way of a needle, Chelsea then reentered the room but this time she was without a book, in her hand were two towels_

"_Come on Ruby, its gonna take a while for Tats to get done with breakfast and for everyone else to get up, I figure you're feeling a little gross after last night, so lets go take a bath." Chelsea said as she walked to the backdoor, Ruby blushed greatly at that_

"_Ummm... while- I... you're pretty but- you-" Ruby began to stumble over her words until Chelsea cut her off_

"_We bathe in a hot spring." Chelsea clarified "But we do own a shower, its just for if were running late or if Lubbock is sneaking around, which he isn't." Chelsea clarified as she dragged Ruby with her_

"_Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Tatsumi called after them "I feel like Chelsea is gonna try something stupid."_

**(o)**

Qrow sighed as he stood and watched Esdeaths' ships enter the city and open fire, he could see pillars of ice and airships buzzing around them, Esdeath was probably having the time of her life right now.

"Father?" Akames voice came from behind him, turning to her he watched as she straightened her now clean clothes, but she still retained the tattered coat

"Whats up kiddo?" Qrow asked as she walked up next to him

"Why aren't we helping over there?" Akame asked watching as Nevermore and Griffin were shot down

"She didn't ask for us." Qrow answered as he sat down and stared at the ground

"I suppose. Have you heard anything about Rubys condition?" Akame asked as she sat down next to him

"Nothing. Its been two days and she is still completely unresponsive... I'm scared that she might not wake up. With what she did its possible that she wont." Qrow commented as he stared at the Wyvern atop Beacon

"What did she do to that thing?" Akame asked following his gaze

"A long time ago before huntsman and kingdoms it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior, it was said that warriors born with eyes of silver could petrify Grimm with a single look, it's a bit of a ridiculous story... but it is very true."

"So... Ruby is powerful enough to do that." Akame commented staring at the tower "Does she know?"

"There's not much know about how her power works, me and Oz talked about it for a while until we came to agree that if she knew that would just make her feel... self-centered." Qrow explained earning a nod from Akame

"That makes sense, I'm sure we could tell her now." Akame reasoned as she began to play with the grass around her

"Yeah... I was planning on doing that; after she woke up." Qrow added as they leaned on each other and watched the battle rage miles away from them

**(o)**

Jaune sat and stared at the headdress in front of him, he felt nothing but guilt as he stared at it, he and his team were set up with

"Jaune?" a voice came from behind him, looking over his shoulder he saw Nora and Ren, both of which seemed fine given the circumstances, their injuries seemed to have healed up nicely too

"Hey guys." Jaune greeted as he smiled at them

"Stop that." Nora ordered earning a confused sound from Jaune "You're trying to put up a strong front for us, but we lost Pyrrha too, so don't act like everything is fine."

"I'm sorry." Jaune apologized as he slouched in his seat

"Don't be, this is going to be a difficult time for all of us." Ren waved off as he and Nora sat down with him "While having something to remember her by is a very useful motivator don't forget that you need to move on eventually."

"I know... have either of you heard anything about Ruby or Akame?" Jaune asked changing the subject

"No, from what I could find Akame died in the fighting, and Ruby is in a coma." Ren answered earning a stuttered sigh from Jaune

"Why did so many people need to die?" Jaune asked, it was clear that he wasn't talking about himself

**(\\_/)**

_Ruby sat down and looked into the steam, the steam itself was very relaxing and she couldn't help but let out a sigh, Chelsea was doing a sweep around the spring to make absolutely sure that Lubbock wasn't nearby_

"_I should enjoy the time I still have here shouldn't I?" Ruby asked herself as she leaned back, the warm water feeling very pleasant whenever she moved, she placed her hand over the mark on her chest it somehow became something of a comforting act_

"_Yo." Chelsea greeted as she sat down next to Ruby causing her to jump a bit_

"_How'd you sneak up on me like that!" Ruby quickly questioned as dozens of spears of ice appeared around Chelsea who gasped and stared at them in shock_

"_How... are you doing... that?" Chelsea slowly asked as her heart slowed from the rapid pace that it was at_

"_You tell me." Ruby snarked as she moved her hand causing Chelsea to pale as she stared at the familiar mark on her chest_

"_You... how?" Chelsea asked as she looked at the girl next to her in horror of her power_

"_I was given it, it's my power now. Don't worry, Esdeath may be the first user of it but it's mine now." Ruby waved off neutrally as she leaned back and relaxed letting the ice melt away_

"_While that may be true, you do know the side effects of taking on a Teigu right?" Chelsea asked carefully as she slowly began to relax_

"_Yeah, it dampens emotions and requires concentration to properly control, and I have mine under control." Ruby waved off calmly earning a groan from Chelsea_

"_While that's correct its not the complete truth, Teigu while powerful weapons were forged from Danger Beasts, some like Murasame and Gaea Foundation don't effect a person, things like Incursio and Demon's Extract do. After this you need to take a good long look at yourself, so you can try and find a way to prevent any alterations you don't like." Chelsea explained slightly concerned for the girl now... not that she'd say anything_

"_It cant be that bad-"_

"_Don't ever say that! Especially when you're talking about a Teigu." Chelsea interrupted "Deception is my greatest weapon, that's why I work so well with Teigu because that's their greatest weapon too." Chelsea finished causing an awkward silence to fall over them, so Chelsea did what she did best, looking over to Ruby she let out a snort then spoke in her best teasing tone "Small boobs." Ruby immediately turned red and covered her chest as she glared at Chelsea trying to keep her eyes from falling to her, admittedly, larger chest_

**(o)**

"Father?"

"Yeah?"

"do you feel like something is your fault right now?" Akame asked looking to him

"Not more so than usually. Why?" Qrow answered as he looked over to her

"No reason." Akame waved off as she looked back at the battle beyond them, things had begun to grow quiet signaling that they were beginning to win

"Qrow!" Tais' voice came from behind him

"Can't I have a minute to myself?" Qrow grumbled as he looked over his shoulder "What!?"

"I think Ruby is waking up!" He shouted back, causing both Qrow and Akame to stand and sprint towards the house knocking Tai down in the process, neither apologized for the action

_**(\\_/)**_

_some time had past sense they 'enjoyed' a bath, even if Chelsea kept teasing Ruby for her 'immature body' but the relaxation that Ruby had hoped for had devolved into a section of pointing out insecurities _

"_I'm just saying, its hard to find someone who doesn't like a more... pronounced chest, I'm sure you can agree that's true." Chelsea commented as Ruby began to get very defensive over her body, usually she didn't care about the words of others but Chelsea had a way of talking that made it seem like it was very important_

"_Shut up! How doesn't anyone around here deal with you?!" Ruby snapped as she tried to keep herself from becoming any more red than she already was_

"_I have... ways of keeping them in line." Chelsea said suggestively, Ruby was now extremely confused, she didn't know if she should be angry, excited, she didn't even know if she could be both but it felt like it_

"_I... you... I..." Ruby continued that for a few moments before realizing that that wouldn't do much for argument, quickly shutting her mouth she got her thoughts in order_

"_I could put you in line too." Chelsea added before she could speak causing Rubys thoughts to again scatter to the wind like sand "Oh wait, you're a girl, sorry with a chest like that I couldn't tell." annnd we're back to angry_

"_**I WILL IMPALE YOUR BODY WITH SPEARS OF ICE!" **Ruby shouted as she swung at Chelsea who wasn't where Ruby remembered her being, feeling a prick on the back of her neck Ruby collapsed to the ground unable to move_

"_And test number one failed, you're as hot headed as anyone else, you need to learn that talking is almost as important in fighting as... you know... actual fighting." Chelsea lectured as she picked Ruby up and began to walk back to base again "Besides you should count yourself lucky that Merraid wasn't here... she stopped in a while back and... tried to convince me to-"_

"_Akame wrote about her... how she was... She was just gross." Ruby interrupted weakly as she tried to feel anything below her neck_

"_Yeah... I figured as much, I actually talked to Akame while she was captured." Chelsea added earning a surprised look from Ruby_

"_Why didn't you try to save her?" Ruby asked as Chelsea shifted her to a more comfortable position_

"_At the time she was one of my enemies, I actually thought she was cute the first time I saw her... don't tell her I said that though. And if you see Merraid don't tell her either, I don't want an 'I told you so' conversation with her, because it wont be much of a conversation."_

"_You worked with Merraid Oarburgh?" Ruby questioned looked frightened briefly_

"_Yeah, she was the best assassin to ever live until Akame ended that, but I feel like what Merraid told me about her death isn't right at all." Chelsea explained as she stepped over a log_

"_Whys that?"_

"_'Cause I don't think that Akame would strip naked for one of her targets." Chelsea answered as they began to reach the house_

"_I'm pretty sure its true, Akame wrote it down in the book she wrote about her life." Ruby said earning a brief pause from Chelsea which was ignored by both, and the subject was quickly dropped_

"_Hows your body feeling?" Chelsea asked as they reached the door_

"_Still cant feel much of anything" Ruby answered then spoke again under her breath "I've been trying to summon blades for a while n-OW STOP THAT!" Ruby shouted as her body felt numb again_

"_Not until you stop trying to kill me." Chelsea reasoned as she flicked the needle away from them into the woods_

"_I was being sarcastic!" Ruby pouted as she tried to move her body in vain_

"_I know." Chelsea commented as she opened the door and walked in then lied Ruby on the couch "I'll go find Tatsumi, we sent Bulat to go get Aegwynn, she should be able to help you."_

"_I'm still hungry though!" Ruby pouted from her paralyzed spot on the couch_

"_I'll grab you some food too." Chelsea added as she left the room, Ruby let out a cheer, finally something was beginning to go her way_

"_Good morning." a new voice greeted, it was a woman with purple hair and a pair of glasses, she looked very tired_

"_Morning, I'm paralyzed, how are you?" Ruby greeted turning her attention to the woman_

"_I'm doing good this morning, thank you for asking Paralyzed." the woman greeted with a bow_

"_N- No, my name is Ruby, not paralyzed... that's what I am." Ruby corrected with a sigh_

"_I thought you were a human?" the woman asked seemingly more confused than before_

"_I am... I'm just paralyzed." Ruby corrected more specifically_

"_Oh... I'm sorry." She apologized with a sad noise, she then mumbled to herself "I'm such an airhead." Ruby hummed in agreement as the woman walked past her and entered the kitchen... most likely forgetting that Ruby existed_

**(o)**

Rubys' eyes seemed to be in a constantly state of almost opening, Akame watched her closely hoping that her eyes would snap open any minute, it reminded her of Kurome in a strange way, placing her hand on Rubys forehead she leaned near her, Rubys breathing was rapid but constant

"What do you think kid?" Qrow asked as he leaned back in his seat, he was obviously very concerned but hid it far better than Akame thought possible

"I don't know, I feel like she's going to wake up at any minute... my instincts say the same too, so the best we can do is be patient." Akame answered as she leaned back

"Yeah, thanks for helping me up." Tai commented as he entered the room

"You're more than capable of standing." Qrow shot back earning a sigh from Tai

"How does she look?" Tai asked as he sat down next to Qrow

"She'll wake up soon." Akame answered confidently she had yet to take her eyes off of Ruby

**(o)**

Jaune watched as the ships returned from Vale and civilians were crowding the solders and cheering, he sat and watched them all cheer and scream

"Well, why aren't you cheering them on?" a woman asked from behind him

"It wont change what I lost." Jaune answered as he looked at his feet and let out a sigh

"That's no reason to mope, look at these people; they all lost their homes, some even lost family but they still gain some amount of hope from seeing those people as heroes, its quite funny if you ask me." the person behind him explained, turning around he was greeted by Esdeath who smiled at him

"How... did-"

"How did I escape the annoyance of people offering praise? Simple; I jumped from my ship before we arrived, I hate things like this. But it strokes the boys egos." Esdeath finished for him as she sat down next to him

"How do you deal with loss?" Jaune asked as he stared at the headdress in his lap, Esdeath raised an eyebrow

"Are you sure you want my answer? Because its very different to anyone else you ask." Esdeath warned her smile slowly fading from her face, that mere act seemed to bring the mood to a low

"I want to know, regardless." Jaune said confidently ignoring the tone change

"Loss is something that I find easy to deal with, when a person dies its because they are weak, in your situation Pyrrha died because she wasn't strong enough to survive, making you stronger then her." Esdeath answered watching him closely as his eye twitch due to her words

"That's a stupid philosophy." Jaune commented as he clenched his fists

"Yet its the only one that I have seen proven true time and time again." Esdeath shot back causing Jaune to flinch fearing her hostility "This was a fun conversation, but I have to go now. If you think you're strong enough talk to Ruby, I'm sure she could find you a place in my army." Esdeath waved off as she stood and walked away vanishing into the crowd. Jaune looked confused as she vanished he wanted to know how she could be so broken to wave off peoples deaths like that

**(o)**

Blake watched as Patch vanished over the horizon, looking at her clothes she realized that they were dirty and bloody, she really needed to change when she got to Three Point, with a sigh she walked towards the door leading under deck, walking downstairs she walked up to her cabin, pulling open the door she entered then shut and locked it, walking up to her bed she lied down and closed her eyes, trying to have some sleep without nightmares

**(o)**

Weiss walked out of the airship, her father storming ahead as he ranted about something unimportant, she wanted to argue but she knew it would be pointless, while she wanted to stay and make sure everyone was okay she knew that she couldn't disagree with her father or things would become extremely difficult

"Are you listening to me Weiss?" Jacques called as he stopped in front of the doors to their house and waited for his butler to open the door

"Yes father." Weiss agreed emotionlessly, it seemed that she was going to have to work on cutting herself off from her emotions for a longer period of time now

"Good, James has begun to freak out about so much nonsense! He's scared that with Esdeaths' actions she could very well start another great war, it's such a stupid train of thought, why would anyone declare war on _us_!?" Jacques ranted as the door was opened for him and he marched in waving wildly nearly smacking the butler

"Well I'm not to sure about general Esdeaths' actions but I know that general Ironwood is doing everything he can to keep the peace." Weiss calmly said as they walked up stairs

"What could he possible do to 'keep the peace'? With how Esdeath acted she should be court-martialed! That would get this whole situation over with quickly and we can all move on with our lives." Jacques continued to rant as he stormed down the hallway towards his study

"He can't just court-martial her, she is a general, she has to go before a military council and argue her points, if the council finds her guilty then she can be, but general Esdeath is very charismatic, so I don't know how the council will go." Weiss informed causing Jacques to roll his eyes as he opened the door to his study entered and slammed it behind him

"Wonderful." Weiss commented blandly at the door as she turned and began towards her room

**(o)**

Yang walked out the front door and quietly shut it behind her, Esdeath sent her a message telling her to go outside to the training grounds, walking around the side of the house she saw Esdeath standing in the center of the arena

"Yang." Esdeath said as she turned around, her eyes catching a raven that quickly flew away "It is time to test you, so we can see if you're prepared to come with me." Esdeath finished without missing a beat

"Alright, but can you at least try to hold back? I'm still recovering." Yang asked as she dropped into a new stance with her left arm guarding her

"I'll make sure to gauge my strength appropriately." Esdeath said as she placed her hand on the hilt of her blade and rushed her. Yang leapt back barely dodging the strike, quickly recovering from the attack Yang lundged forward and swung a punch Esdeath ducked under the strike and slammed the pommel of her blade into Yangs' jaw sending her to the ground, quickly recovering Yang rolled to the side and swung another punch at Esdeath who caught the strike and dropped down on Yang slamming her knee into her gut, Yang let out a gasp of pain

"You're still trying to rely on your arms, but you cant anymore. Try again." Esdeath ordered as she stood off of her, Yang stood and rushed Esdeath who ducked under her strike and swung her leg trying to sweep Yangs' legs from under her, Yang jumped over the sweep and punched at Esdeath who again caught it and flipped Yang over her slamming her into the ground

"If you cant land a hit on me, I will leave you behind." Esdeath warned as she walked away from Yang, who stood and felt her body begin to warm up, her eyes turned red and her muscles relaxed, rushing towards Esdeath she turned and ducked under the attack but was still knocked down, Yang grabbed her blade and drew it, spinning around she grazed the blade along Esdeaths' leg as she dodged away from her

"Well, well, well, look at that, you can handle a sword." Esdeath commented as looked at the shocked expression on Yangs' face, but she quickly recovered from it and spoke

"Of course I can handle a sword, I just don't like it as much as I like punching things. But I don't have much of a choice anymore." Yang shot back as she tossed Esdeaths' sword back to her, catching the blade Esdeath threw it back at Yang catching her in the gut and sending her to the ground "Lesson one; never drop your guard. At first this will be a difficult task but will eventually become second nature, much like Aura." Esdeath explained as Yang groaned and rolled over onto her back and slowly stood

"Well you two seem to be working hard." Qrows' voice came from their side, both looked to him

"Good evening Qrow. Vale is still being swept for Grimm that were too cowardly to die in the open, we could have used yo-" Esdeath greeted with a smile Qrow cut her off

"Yeah; I don't care." Qrow said coldly as he began to pace "I've been thinkin' recently-"

"Don't hurt your head too much." Esdeath snarked matching his tone, Qrow ignored her and kept speaking

"-and I'm not sure if James is gonna handle your fuck up very well." Qrow finished as he turned and paced back, his eyes were locked on Esdeath the entire time he moved

"Please, James may hold power but he cant make any decisions without the councils approval, and now he cant institute marshal law without his second seat." Esdeath reasoned earning a raised eyebrow from Qrow "Oh you didn't know?" Esdeath asked with a grin "I'm the new headmistress of Atlas academy."

"Oh... _shit_." Qrow muttered as he froze in place trying to figure out how that got past him

"I'm going to guess you're currently trying to figure out what you should do now that I'm one of your bosses." Esdeath commented as she walked around behind him "I could put you in charge of my Beasts again, but I fear that that is a position based in loyalty, something you're clearly not familiar with." Esdeath added as she watched him, he was clearly frustrated that she was put in charge of the future of Atlas and thousands of children

Esdeath smirked and looked at Yang for a second or so then spoke again "I wonder how long it will take for me to train all those students into proper warriors? One year? Maybe two? I cant help but imagine it... cant you?"

Yang was watching as Esdeath talked, Qrow was clearly catching every single word out of her mouth, she had never seen Qrow look so scared before, or ever for that matter

"Whats the worse possible outcome? With how many men and woman that enter Atlas academy I would have to say it shouldn't take more than four years for me to gain control of the entire special forces branch of the Heer, how long do you think James will be able to keep me under control after that?" Esdeath spoke again her tone was condescending but it was honest, Yang stood by and watched for some reason she was interested to see how this played out, she knew that Esdeath was trying to goad Qrow onto something but, he's one of the most stable people she knows

Qrow turned and swung a punch at her face, Esdeath ducked under it and blocked a knee from Qrow which sent her rolling back, both grabbed the hilts of their blades and stared at each other

"H-Hold on!" Yang interrupted stepping between them "Were suppose to work together, not fight among ourselves. That's what Salem wants-"

"Yang you're starting to sound like Ruby." Qrow commented as he drew Harbinger and held it in front of him, she could hear Esdeath draw her blade too

"Maybe it because shes right! We cant fight right now-"

"YANG! You don't seem to understand that regardless of what we should and shouldn't do I can say with absolute certainty that the longer shes left with any power the bigger the shit storm we'll have to deal with, so I'd rather get sent to prison for the next decade then letting her stay alive." Qrow quickly ranted as he glared at Esdeath

"Like you're the best judge when it comes to who should and shouldn't be given power." Esdeath shot back aiming her blade at Qrow matching his glare

"Fuck you, you're literally the least qualified person to be in this brotherhood. You narcissistic, lying, bitch." Qrow shouted back

"I'm sorry but have I ever lied to you? Because I cant think of any point in time that I have. But I could gladly show you what I do to people who have lied to me." Esdeath shot back, both forgot about Yang who was watching in abject horror, these were the protectors of the world... and they wanted to kill each other

"_ENOUGH!_" Yang shouted earning both of their looks, Yang sighed "You're both acting like children, sure Esdeath is, subjectively, a monster but, Qrow, you have to let go of that, she is helping us in her own way."

Qrow looked from Yang to Esdeath then back again "I hope you remember this when she burns this world to its foundations. Because I know for a fact shes not gonna let me or Akame live long enough to tell you I told you so." Qrow spat coldly as he turned sheathed Harbinger and stalked away, Yang let out a sigh and slouched she couldn't figure out how Ozpin or Ruby dealt with that pressure

"I'm glad you sided with me Yang." Esdeath commented as she sheathed her blade

"I'm not siding with anyone." Yang corrected as she walked back to the middle of the training grounds

"He doesn't see it that way. And the way you spoke didn't convey that either." Esdeath explained as she joined Yang in the training grounds "He's probably going to take your choice to come with me personally."

"It has nothing to do with him, he'll understand that." Yang reasoned confidently as she clenched and unclenched her hand, Esdeath on the other hand knew Qrow far better than her

**(\\_/)**

"_So... is this going to hurt... or?.." Ruby trailed off as the woman in front of her as moving her hands around causing purple energy to dance between them_

"_No, its a simple matter of reorganizing your time. Of course you could wait for that to occur which could take week or months, but there's also the chance that your soul wouldn't be able to recover from that." the woman explained as though it were normal_

"_So... what are you doing? Is it... like... a Semblance or Teigu?" Ruby asked watching the energy reach out and begin to dance on her arms, it felt warm but also like it wasn't there, it was a strange sensation_

"_No, nothing so trivial. It is magic, more specifically; time magic. I'm not going to go into the specifics because it would be useless to you, from what I can tell there's no Ley Lines for you to gather mana from so you wouldn't be able to do anything like this."_

"_Whats a Ley Line?" Ruby asked trying to strike up conversation, Chelsea and Tatsumi were currently keeping Lubbock distracted so she could work in peace but it was still awkward for Ruby to sit quietly_

"_Like I said, its unimportant... you know what, here." the woman reached into the satchel she had on her and pulled out a scroll and held it out to Ruby "If you can decipher this by the time I'm done I'll tell you about Arcane Magic." Ruby unrolled the scroll and suddenly felt completely out of her depth, like everything she had ever learned was completely useless, all the letters on the page didn't even match up with the letters next to them and occasionally the letters shimmered and changed slightly_

"_Is this... just gibberish?" Ruby asked after a few minutes of trying to figure out the words on it_

"_No, its a copy of the one of the Scrolls of Meitre, this is one of the simpler ones, well simple is a bit of an understatement, its not the hardest thing to understand." she answered as the glow on Ruby began to expand across her whole body "So, did you figure it out? Because I'm done."_

"_Um... no... not even close." Ruby answered looking down at the scroll again_

"_The words are simple to understand, its the alternations that occur that are harder to understand." Aegwynn said as she stood and grabbed the scroll causing all the letters to shine purple and become Vytalian "'Transmutation is the art of changing one objects properties to another.'... so you can change what an object is made of!?" Ruby asked excitedly_

"_Yes, but most people chose not to study these scrolls until the end of their apprenticeship, I successfully deciphered it during mine apprenticeship though, I can see that you're very interested in this, once you reach the end of your life seek me out here, we'll see what you can actually do."_

"_I thought you said I couldn't-"_

"_I did say that, but I've always been one to push the boundaries of the known, it will take some time but I cant help but feel that you could prove to be powerful enough to gain such power. Farewell child." Aegwynn explained then with a snap of her fingers Ruby vanished_

**(o)**

_screaming was all she could hear, looking around she saw Cinder writhing on the ground in pain, she was holding her throat and covering her left eye, the screaming stopped so Cinder could throw up blood. Looking over her shoulder Ruby saw herself, but it couldn't have been her, she... she looked like Esdeath_

_Ruby flipped the bloody blade of ice in her hand then dragged her tongue across it, then smiled sadistically_

"_Ah... you're blood tastes like ashes, I guess you and Pyrrha have something in common, huh?" Ruby asked as she marched over to Cinder, who frighteningly crawled backwards reaching the edge of the tower shards of glass piercing her hands_

"_I thought you were going to kill me." Ruby commented as she grabbed one of the shards of glass and stabbed it into her leg, earning more strained screams, Ruby then began twisting the glass until it broke, Cinder began to cry "Oh, I'm sorry, are you HURT!? ARE YOU SCARED!? ARE YOU IN PAIN!?" Ruby questioned in rage, with each word she punched the shard of glass deeper into Cinders' leg then stood, Ruby sighed then back handed Cinder knocking her to the ground, placing her hand on Cinders left arm_

"_I'm not going to kill you. But I will make sure you understand your place in this world." Ruby explained as ice began to snake its way down her arm to her finger tips, Cinder tried to summon fire but each times the flame appeared it would turn silver and fade away. With a sadistic grin Ruby leaned on Cinders frozen arm causing cracks to begin to form on her arm, and she started to panic again, swinging a fist at Ruby it was batted away, feeling the ice shatter it tore off Cinders skin with, causing her to begin to cry and beg_

"_Please! St-" Cinder gargled out but was cut off but Ruby covered her mouth_

"_You killed my friends. You destroyed MY school. You've killed so many people! And you want mercy?" Ruby elaborated calmly as snow began to fall around them "I. Am. Being. Merciful. I wont kill you." Ruby said as she grabbed Cinders' skinless arm and yanked ripping it from her body causing the woman to fall unconscious_

"_Right where you belong." Ruby said as she froze Cinders arm shut "Like I said I'm not gonna kill you." Ruby added as she placed her foot on Cinders body and looked over the ledge "I said nothing about gravity though." kicking Cinder off the ledge she let out a sigh then tossed her arm after her, looking at the bloody blade in her hand she smiled then walked over to Pyrrhas' headdress and picked it up and she felt like-_

_Do you believe in destiny? _

_**The weak are destined to lie beneath the boots of the strong.** _

_I'm sorry. _

_**I don't understand the feelings of the weak. **_

_You cant get it wrong if it's the truth._

_**Panicking leads to an early grave.**_

**(o)**

Rubys' eyes snapped open and she sat up panting heavily, staring at her hands she saw the blood coating them

"Ruby?" Akames' voice came from next to her, quickly looking over to her Rubys' eyes darted back to her now clean hands but shes still felt tears well up in her eyes as she launched herself onto Akame, holding her as tightly as she could

"Its okay, you're okay." Akame comforted as she returned the gesture

"I'm so sorry." Ruby struggled to say through tears "I snapped I couldn't control myself, I'm sorry!"

"What are you talking about? You probably saved everyone with what you did to that dragon." Akame asked as she pulled Ruby away from her and studied her features

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked matching her confusion

"You turned a dragon to stone. What do _you_ mean?" Akame clarified as she checked Ruby over for any unseen wounds

"I let Cinder get away... after cutting off her arm... and I think one of her eyes." Ruby answered waiting for Akame to scold her

"Demon's Extract is powerful, you need to control it better. Make sure you finish her off next time. It's not safe to prolong any engagements it opens up the opportunity to lose." Akame said as she began to run her hand through Rubys hair

"But I tortured her, I'm no better than Esde-" Ruby began as tears began to stream from her eyes again

"No, just because you have tortured doesn't make you like Esdeath, Esdeath tortures for pure pleasure, you have just lost two people very valuable and she was the source of it. I don't care if you tortured her for fun, as long as you protect the people dear to you and never compromise you're values, as Esdeath has."

"Why... why are you like this!? Why cant yo-" Ruby began but was cut off by a quick chop to her head

"Because I have lost too much to lose this family too." Akame answered as she began to rub the spot on Rubys' head where she hit "Besides, I know that you are actually a good person, and far more deserving for a second chance than me, so long as you keep coming back I have no reason to abandon you." Akame stood "I'll go get you some lunch."

**(o)**

Qrow was leaning on the counter on the kitchen, Tai was messing with an old radio he had

"Just turn it off. You're not gonna get through to anyone." Qrow said as he grabbed the bottle next to him and took a swig

"I... things are just such a mess right now." Tai commented with a sigh

"Things are always a mess, and with Esdeath being in charge of Atlas, things are only going to get worse." Qrow snarked back as he let out an extremely tired sigh

"You keep saying things are going to go to shit because of her, but we can hope that she changed for the better." Tai reasoned with a weak smile

"That's like hoping that the Grimm are suddenly going to start acting as civil services, and clear out of Vale." Qrow snarked coldly "You haven't seen what that bitch can do."

"And you have?"

"It was a long time ago now... almost a year."

**(\\_/)**

"_We came in your way, we will be leaving mine!" Esdeath shouted, Qrow let out a sigh as he hear the clanging of armor coming down the hallway, turning towards the doorway he extended Harbingers blade again as Esdeath walked out summoned a few blades of ice and launched them in either direction, jogging out of the room into the no longer barren hallway he looked at the guards, they were young, with a sigh he hoisted harbinger from his shoulder and fired it behind him sending a few guards into the wall_

"_Fascinating, your sword incorporates a gun into it." Esdeath commented as she parried an attack from one guards grabbed his arm and forced him to stab his ally before decapitating both of them, Qrow swung harbinger cutting multiple solders down_

"_Yeah, can we get moving now?" Qrow asked as he kicked a solder away from him into another sending them both to the ground_

"_Come now enjoy yourself a little, besides, our job here is done but the empire still wants this place secured. So that's what we're doing." Esdeath goaded as she easily cut solders down even as they retreated, the hallway in both directions were now coated in a thin layer of blood, Qrow turned and ran, Esdeath sighed and followed after him..._

**(o)**

"So many people died... after we killed all the combatants she ordered her men to do whatever they wanted to the civilians then kill all the men and half of the woman and children." Qrow finished and stared at his hands "I had to go to a dark place for that mission and even then... I still hear the screams, the begs for mercy... it was horrible. I'm telling you Tai because I trust you, and I want you to do everything you can to make sure that no student from Signal ends up going to Atlas, I know its not much but it all I can really ask you to do."

"I'll do what I can... but I cant promise you anything." Tai agreed as he processed the situation

"I know..." Qrow trailed off as he looked at the drink in his hand

Akame entered the room grabbed a plate of food that she cooked earlier, as she exited the room she spoke "Ruby is awake." Qrow and Tai shared a look then followed after her

**(o)**

Yang let out a quiet scream, the ice that was frozen to different parts of her body began to burn her skin

"Keep pushing, if you can't handle this pain you wont be able to defeat Adam, let alone survive the training I'll put you through." Esdeath said as she placed her boot on Yangs' back and pushed down on her, Yang wanted to cry so much right now, the pain was almost completely unbearable but she knew she hand to keep pushing, she needed this strength

"You've began to slow." Esdeath added as she pushed her heel down onto Yangs' back slamming her into the ground earning a gasp of pain from Yang who attempted to push off the ground and failed

"Push." Esdeath growled as the ice began to grow on Yang who started to whine in pain, quickly pushing herself upward Yang felt her hair begin to burn as she forced herself upward, Esdeath smiled as she removed her weight from Yang

"Well done, we should get back to our ship and get you back into a uniform. I'm sure once we get to Atlas I could talk with Pietro about getting you a replacement for your arm." Esdeath added as the ice across Yangs' body shattered leaving red areas

"You can do that!?" Yang asked as she stood, her limbs giving out briefly due to the strain on them

"Of course. You are one of my solders, your problems are my problems, if you cant preform at your best I will do everything in my power to allow you to do so." Esdeath answered, for the first time Yang felt admiration towards Esdeath, she was how Yang wanted to be... minus the murderous tendencies

"Now then, lets go. We'll be leaving for Atlas tod... no actually scratch that, there's something I want to do before returning to Atlas." Esdeath said as she began towards the road leading away from the house "I'll be back tomorrow to get you, I recommend telling everyone your choice of joining me, even if it hurts them." Esdeath added before continuing away from her, after Esdeath was out of ear shot Yang let out a gasp and dropped to the ground holding the red parts of her body, they were freezing cold and numb, she didn't know if they were injured or not but she hoped that Esdeath wouldn't notice

**(o)**

Yang walked into the house and let out a sigh the burns across her body were slowly beginning to heal but that didn't stop them from hurting

"Yang, Ruby is awake, if you want to talk with her." Tai said as he walked down stairs

"Why aren't you up there then?" Yang asked as she quickly began to go up stairs

"Qrow and Akame wanted to talk to her alone." Tai answered as he began towards the kitchen, Yang let out a sigh and walked up the stairs, she then quieted her footsteps as she approached Rubys room and listened closely

"So... what do you want me to do?" Ruby asked

"I don't really care what you do, it's your choice; stay here, or start heading towards Haven. That's what me and Akame are going to be doing. I know you're a bit disoriented right now but, it'd be nice to know soon." Qrow said his voice was far calmer than earlier

"I... I need some time, but I'll figure it out soon." Ruby avoided "Yang! You can come in now." she then added, Turning the corner and stood in the doorway Yang laughed awkwardly and waved, Qrow was sitting in a chair next to Rubys bed while Akame was sitting on Rubys' bed pushing her fingers through Rubys' hair

"Morning Ruby... how was your... nap?" Yang awkwardly asked as she entered the room, Rubys eyes never once left her missing arm

"I should have killed her." Ruby lamented as she covered her eyes

"There's nothing you can do now but keep fighting." Akame comforted as she continued to pet her

"Don't worry about it Ruby, Esdeath said that she could get me a new one made. So I'll be back up and running in no time." Yang waved off as she touched the stump of where her arm was supposed to be and immediately began to feel sick from the sensation, quickly moving her hand away from the area she let out a laugh, clearly to cover up the shakes she was feeling

"Besides kid, Yang's a tough one. She'll work this whole thing out and get back to that annoying overconfidence prick vibe that her dad gave her." Qrow snarked earning a smack upside the head from Yang

"Actually... I wanted to talk to you guys about that... as a whole." Yang said her voice dropping into a far more serious tone

"'Whole' is a strong wo-" Qrow began but Akame quickly kicked him causing him to changed what he was saying "I mean- yeah, after today we could all use some time together."

"I missed this... but I guess its about time I got outta bed." Ruby commented as she threw her blanket off and began to stand her legs immediately gave out and she was caught by Akame

"You've been out for almost four days. Your legs aren't used to your weight yet, give them a few minutes." Akame advised as she kept Ruby stable, Qrow stood and walked out the door, Yang walked alongside Ruby and Akame

**(o)**

"So... what'd you wanna talk about Firecracker?" Qrow asked as he leaned on the side of the sofa, Tai was seated in the chair to the right of the sofa, Yang, Ruby, and Akame were all seated on the sofa, all attention was given to Yang who looked rather uncomfortable

"Well... I plan to... go with Esdeath... when she leaves." Yang slowly said as she felt the pressure of their eyes grow more intense

"That's-" Qrow began but was interrupted by Akame

"That's your choice, and I can see that you feel that that is what is keeping your fire lit. While you may choose to go with Esdeath I ask that you don't let her twist you into a monster, remember that you're a good person first, and a solder second." Akame advised as she pulled Yang into a hug then whispered "I want you to make sure your heart and mind are in complete agreement before making any choices."

Ruby spoke next again prevent Qrow from speaking "I still need to talk to her, but I trust that you'll have an easy time keeping your cool."

"Okay... is everyone else do-" Qrow began to ask but was cut off again by Tai

"I'll trust you on this one Yang but... well... I'm not happy about it."

Qrow let out a sigh and then spoke "I'm not gonna lie to you, I think you're making a horrible decision, but its your choice Firecracker. Even if it's a stupid choice."

"You know I expected more resistance to this." Yang commented as Akame released her

"You're as adult as anyone gets kid, no ones gonna stop you. But there will be no shortage of people calling you an idiot." Qrow snarked as he walked towards the kitchen

**(o)**

Yang let out a gasp, the nightmares have yet to go away staring at her hand she saw how much it trembled, quickly clenching her fist she punched the wall next to her cracking it, standing from bed she began to dress herself after dressing she began downstairs but heard voices from the kitchen

"You cant be serious!" Qrows' voice came from the kitchen

"I am serious, she is an adult now, we cant stop h-" Tai began calmly

"Stop using that a an excuse! I told you about her and you're still willing to give your daughter to her" Qrow interrupted, the sound of the someone hitting the table could be heard and a loud snapping of wood

"Father! Calm down, I trust Yang to make her own choices just because we cant trust Esdeath doesn't mean we cant trust Yang." Akames voice came too, Yang sat down on the stairs and continued to listen

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Esdeath has a way of talking... it's... she can convince you to do just about anything with enough time. That's what makes her new position as Headmistress of Atlas such a problem. She can interact with thousands of huntsman-in-training, you can bet your ass that shes gonna get them all to think shes a fucking god." Qrow ranted

"Then we'll deal with her when things have settled down, but right now the world is too destabilized, you can't think that killing a general is going to fix that." Tai said clearly irritated that the table is broken

"I'd rather kill her before she can get back to Atlas, the fewer people that are exposed to that monster the better our chances of winning." Qrow said coldly, Yang let out a sigh and stood as she began to make her way down towards the angry voices from the kitchen but froze when she heard a knock on the door behind her, turning to the door she pulled it open she was greeted by Esdeath

"Good morning Yang, has Ruby waken up yet? Today's the last day we're going to be here, so I want to at least know." Esdeath asked as she entered the building

"She's out of her coma but she's still asleep right now... so you know, you're probably going to have to wait." Yang answered as Esdeath walked up stairs as soon as she said 'she's out of her coma'

"Yang? Who was that?" Tai asked as he exited the kitchen

"Esdeath, she's here to see Ruby and I think she needs to talk with Qrow and Akame, then we're leaving." Yang answered earning a sigh from Tai

"This has been a hell of a week hasn't it?" Tai commented as he sat down on the couch and let out a yawn, Yang rolled over the back of the couch and lied down next to him

"Yeah..."

"Please be careful." Tai commented "I know you want pay back, but please... be careful, for me." Tai begged looking far more distraught about the choice she made

"I don't planing on dying." Yang commented her voice carrying her conviction, but Tai let out a sigh and spoke again, this time though it was in a far more somber tone "No one ever does."

**(o)**

Esdeath entered Rubys room and shut the door behind her, clicking the lock as she shut it, sitting down on Rubys bed she stared at the sleeping girl, she then lightly shook her, Rubys eyes snapped open and blades of ice appeared pointing in all directions

"I'm so sorry." Esdeath immediately said "I am so so _so_ sorry." Esdeath continued "I don't know how to act in this situation, I don't know how to apologize, but I am sorry! I-"

"You can stop now." Ruby said as she sat up and hugged her "I know you're sorry. But you can't fix what you did. I don't care how sorry you are, you need to prove that you're truly sorry." Ruby finished as she let go of Esdeath

"What do you want me to do? So I can prove to you that I don't want to lose you." Esdeath asked desperate for some form of certainty that she still had Ruby

"I want you to help us stop Salem, no more doing your own thing, no more condemning an entire city for the sake of one person. Start acting like a Huntress, and I might return to you."

"I don't-"

"I don't wanna change either but I've changed more over the past two semester, so you can do a little changing." Ruby snarked as she lied back in her bed "If that's all you wanted to say I'd like to get back to sleep."

"I also wanted to tell you, I'm leaving for Atlas today, I wanted to ask you to come with me." Esdeath added her voice carrying some level of hope in it

"No, I've already talked with Qrow and Akame, I told them that I'd start making my way to Mistral." Ruby shot down quickly as she lied back in bed

"My army is heading that way, they can-" Esdeath offered

"I'll be walking, its less safe but its also harder to track, that being said it'll also stop you from burning down another city." Ruby interrupted causing Esdeath to quickly hide her pain

"Very well, Yang will be coming with me though." Esdeath added obviously trying to get Ruby to rethink her plan

"I know." Ruby shot down again, Esdeath sighed and stood quickly exiting the room knowing that she cant convince Ruby

**(o)**

Weeks have pasted and Ruby finally began to start training again, Qrow and Akame were helping clean up Vale along side the rest of Beacons staff and the volunteer huntsman-in-training, Ruby wanted to help with that but Qrow told her that she needed to test her strength in a more controlled environment first. Walking out of the house Ruby walked to the center of the training grounds, kneeling down she felt Demon's Extract flow through her body as ice began to freeze the ground beneath her, pushing more of her power outward she heard a whine from behind her, Zwei moved, backing away from the growing sheet of ice

"Go inside buddy, I'll come get you when I'm done." Ruby ordered opening her eyes she stood, after hearing him enter the house she let out a roar and raised her arms to the sky sending a pillar of blue flames upward, a few moments later it began to snow, she then went to work summoning blades of ice then cut them to pieces with Crescent Rose

"I think I'm strong enough now." Ruby commented as she held her hand out to catch the snow, turning back towards the house she caught sight of Jaune, Nora, and Ren, making their way up the driveway, which was more of a dirt path, they didn't use the car very often

"Ruby!" Nora cheered and rushed her, Ruby vanished just as Nora nearly wrapped her arms around her "Oh no." Nora said calmly as she slammed into the ground

"Sorry Nora, I'm still getting used to the whole... trauma... thing." Ruby apologized as she helped Nora up

"You don't seem traumatized." Jaune commented as he walked up alongside Ren

Ruby laughed then abruptly stopped and spoke in a serious tone "Yeah, I know it seems that way. Try work with Esdeath for a while... you'll end up like me in no time."

"I'd... rather not." Jaune commented with a light laugh

"So why are you three here? It's been weeks and you all haven't come and visited yet." Ruby asked changing the subject, as she began towards the house

"Why is it snowing?" Ren asked as they walked, Ruby rolled her eyes but felt the urge to answer honestly

"I made it snow, its a small amount of my power but its a part of it." Ruby answered pridefully

"I thought your semblance was speed... you know... but I have seen you use ice and summon it too... how'd you do that? Is it magic? Is it dust? Do you inject dust?-"

"I drank someones blood, and it gave me the power to control ice. There's one ability that I need to grow more proficient with... but I can only use it once a day right now." Ruby answered honestly earning a gasp from Nora "Are you a vampire!?" she asked earning a raised eyebrow from Ruby

"Wha- no! How would I be able to control ice if I was a vampire?" Ruby asked as she pulled the door open

"I don't know, but I do know vampires can shoot eye lasers." Nora commented as she entered the building eyeing Ruby

"That doesn't make sense either." Ruby muttered as Ren apologized to her as he entered. Sitting down in the living room, Ruby sat down in the armchair and spoke "So what brings you three here?"

"We've talked... we... we want to know what you know about the person who attacked Beacon, we wanna go after them... so what do you know?" Jaune answered as he leaned back on the couch

"That's... well that's something." Ruby commented as she stood and began to pace in front of the three "How do you plan on getting your vengeance? Hunt down Cinder and stick a knife through her ribs? Or do you plan to die on your way to that?" Ruby asked as she put her Major act on again

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked as Nora and Ren shared looks

"What is your plan when you hunt down Cinder?" Ruby asked again as she stopped in front of him

"We're planing on going over that on the way. Is that not a good idea?" Jaune said with a quick awkward laugh, Ruby let out a sigh

"I'll be going to Mistral next week. You guys can come with me." Ruby said earning surprise from all of them "It's the best lead we've got, so we might as well follow it. Cinder ruined _my_ school, and I haven't finished paying her back yet." Ruby added her voice carrying small hints of rage in it

"Well then... it looks like we have our mission then!" Jaune happily said as he stood and pulled Ruby into a hug "Thank you... for helping us."

"We're leaving at the end of next week, so be ready." Ruby added as she began towards the door "Unless you three want to train with me, I haven't sparred against anyone other than Esdeath and Akame in a while, so I wanna see where I stand."

"Um... okay, do you guys wanna do that?" Jaune asked turning to his team, Nora and Ren shared a look

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Nora said after then looked away from each other

**(o)**

Qrow leaned on the wall of a building and watched as huntsman and huntresses ran past him tracking down Creeps that were still in the city, most of the big creatures like Taijitu or Nevermore were already taken care of by Esdeaths' army, which left three weeks ago

"Father!" Akames' voice came from above him, taking a step to the right Akame landed right where he once was

"Whats up kid?" Qrow asked as he leaned back again and crossed his arms

"I've talked with Glynda, she says that they have everything under control now, we can leave when we feel like it." Akame answered earning a nod from Qrow

"Right... you can start heading for Mistral now if you want, I'm planing on keeping an eye on Ruby while shes out there, Yang asked me to do that so its the least I can do." Qrow said earning a nod from Akame

"I'll leave tomorrow. Once I get to Mistral I'll look into setting up a safe house." Akame answered earning a nod from Qrow

"When you get to Mistral keep a low profile, Leo's a good guy but I want us all to be there when we talk to him. While I trust Leo he's not my favorite guy in the inner circle." Qrow said as he and Akame began to walk towards the docks

"But wouldn't I be able to help with the recovery of Mistral if I do make contact with him?" Akame asked slightly confused by Qrows reasoning

"Yeah, but it has been a while since I've seen Leo and even longer sense he reported in to Oz, so he's on a bit of thin ice right now." Qrow answered earning another nod from Akame

"Understood."

"How many bullets do you have left for Due Process?" Qrow asked as they waited for the ferry to arrive

"I have five bullets still in it, I have an extra twelve ready to be loaded." Akame answered earning a nod from Qrow

"You should see about getting more on your way to Mistral, most of the communities out there are pretty much self sufficient." Qrow advised as they waited, looking into the distance they could barely see Patch, it had become the primary stopping point for most people coming to Vale... for obvious reasons. The council decided to hold a ceremony for Ozpin after they learned of his death, Qrow, Akame, Glynda, and Ruby did not attend, they all claimed that they were needed else where

**(o)**

Ruby ducked under a swing from Nora and kicked her away catching Jaunes' wrist she threw him at Ren who ducked under him and slashed at Ruby who caught both of his wrists then kicked him in the gut sending him rolling up next to Jaune, Ruby stepped to the side and caught Magnhild stopping Noras' progression immediately

"I thought you were the strong one?" Ruby snarked as she kicked Nora away from her weapon, spinning around as she swung the weapon she send Jaune flying as Ren slid under it and slashed at Rubys legs but missed as she vanished into a flurry of rose petals but Magnhild dropped on him

"Jeez Ruby... how'd you get so strong so fast?" Jaune asked as he stumbled to his feet

"Esdeath, Akame, the fact that I had to hold a dock against the horde of Grimm that destroyed Vale, all alone." Ruby answered as she relived that experience in her head quickly shaking her head she freed the thought from her mind "It's not a great way to gain strength, come on... lets go again I want you guys to be stronger when we leave."

**(o)**

Akame stared at Patch, as it slowly faded over the horizon, she then looked at the map Qrow had given her, it was a map of Anima, but the sounds of the ocean reminded her of a conversation from a long time ago between her, Leone, and Tatsumi, they were planing on going on a trip... but right now she was alone apart from a crow that followed her ship for a while before turning back towards Patch, turning around she began to make her way towards the door to go under deck but her vision caught a few people harassing a faunas, walking over to them she listened in

"You bastard, your kind destroyed Vale!" one man said as he kicked the faunus in the gut sending the boy to the ground

"Please, I had noth-" the boy tried to say but was cut off by another kick from a different man

"Excuse me." Akame asked surprising even herself

"Yeah?" the first man asked casually as he stepped on the boys hand

"Why are you harassing that child?" Akame asked as she adjusted her tattered coat hiding Murasame but she grabbed Due Process

"Obviously its cause this shrimp is a member of the White Fang." the man reasoned as he swung his heel back into the kids eye causing him to roll into the railing, Akame released Due Process and walked up to the child kneeled down and looked him dead in the eyes

"Are you a member of the White Fang?" Akame asked her tone was completely neutral

"No, of course I'm not!... me and my mom lost my dad in all the fighting." the boy cried as tears began to stream from his eyes, Akame could tell he wasn't lying, he didn't have the same sound to him as Blake, but he didn't sound like one of the radicals from the train either

Akame stood and turned to the men "He's telling the truth, leave him alone."

"How could you tell? Hell how do we know you're not a member of that fucked up organization?" The man asked clearly angry about being in the wrong

"Because I deal with liars. And you can tell that I'm not a member because I'm a human, a huntress, and I defended Beacon from the White Fang." Akame answered calmly "But do you really think acting like this will get people to stop joining the White Fang? All you're doing is breeding more violence." Akame finished as she helped the boy up and let him run away from the situation

"I'm... sorry." the man apologized "I didn't know... me and my wife are from Vale we lost our home so we chose to leave... go somewhere else to try and make a new life." the man explained with a sad tone "We're scared-"

"Everyone is scared but your reaction isn't helping anyone." Akame commented coldly as she walked away to get settled into her room, she had a long trip ahead and an even harder one after that

**(-)**

**A/N I've made a poor choice. I made this one chapter, over ten thousand words and my brain hurts, but I feel that it was almost worth it. Even now I don't know if this one will hold up, this took so much effort, not to get the story out, but to get the words out. It has been trying but I am rather glad that I got it in time. So many words, so little time, and hopefully it's good enough.**


	13. Kill the Past

**TLDR- Volume 4 is out, as well as a mini series I created called Frostfall, its about Esdeaths' time a Atlas academy its a bit of a fun one.**

Esdeath opened her eyes, it was early in the morning and she woke up covered in sweat again, those damn nightmares kept coming back to her again and again, closing her eyes she faced what was left of the nightmare

**(\\_/)**

_She stood on the edge of the tribes borders, the tents were torn and burning, quickly dropping the large bird she was dragging behind her she ran into the village_

"_FATHER!" She felt herself shout as she ran, hearing a cough from her left she ran to the dying man_

"_Esdeath?" the man asked weakly, she looked at his body, he was going to die and his organs were spilling out and the blood was rapidly spreading_

"_Where is father?" Esdeath demanded, she couldn't feel sorry for this man, he was weak, he deserved this_

"_The... chief, rallied the hunters, and tried to fight them off, but they ganged up on him..." The man explained with his final breaths, Esdeath turned to the center of the village and ran, he had to be here, reaching the center she saw him, her father, bleeding out and dying, dozens of spears stabbed into him_

"_Father!" Esdeath called as she ran to his side, she felt barely anything as she watched the blood seep from his body, he was weak, that's the only explanation for this event_

"_Esdeath?.. this happened because we were weak, don't... end up... like this..." her father mumbled out he then stared at the sky and kept speaking, but not to Esdeath to himself, he seemed to be driven made by his weakness_

**(o)**

"Lady Esdeath?" a voice came breaking her from thought, looking to the speaker, Esdeath instantly recognized him as Wilhelm her butler, he was an older man with graying brown hair and amber eyes

"What is it Wilhelm?" Esdeath asked, her voice was anything but timid, she was twelve after all... it felt strange to think that, she didn't feel twelve, not even close.

"Your mother wishes to see you after you eat." Wilhelm answered earning a nod from Esdeath as she stood and began to dress herself, her mother had told her that she had Wilhelm for that but she didn't care, she wouldn't let anyone else dress her, that was her responsibility, removing her night shirt she placed her hand on the mark over her heart, she felt strange when she did that, like there was something just beneath the surface of her body wanting to break free, but it knew that it would be better if it didn't, quickly dressing herself in a pair of white dress pants with a white button up, she left it unbuttoned enough to expose her mark, she then tucked the shirt into her pants after she put on a black belt and black boots, she began to the door

"You do know your mother wishes that you would wear one of the dresses she got you. And a bra." Wilhelm commented as he followed after her

"I know, but until she gets a dress that I can comfortably move in I wont be wearing them, and bras are extremely uncomfortable how anyone could wear one is beyond me." Esdeath waved off as they stopped by the armory just down the hall from her room and she entered, grabbed a rapier and hooked it and its scabbard on her belt as she exited and continued down the hall

"I suppose you wont be putting that back until your mother gets you a personal combat instructor too?" Wilhelm snarked earning a grin from Esdeath

"There is that, but don't you find it strange that since I got into **Alsius**** I have yet to be beaten?**" Esdeath asked looking to her butler for his answer

"Well, that's not entirely unheard of, there are a few people in your same position. I'm sure you've heard plenty of stories about them from your father?" Wilhelm waved off

"As a matter of fact I haven't, he hasn't talked to me in months." Esdeath answered coldly as she turned her attention to the colorless set of stairs they found themselves on

"But you spend all your free time in his workshop with him, he has had to say something to you." Wilhelm waved off, again he down playing it as a childhood over exaggeration

"You'd be surprised, besides, I spend my time trying to figure out a weapon to build. Nothing seems to be working, I've tried a dozen different designs, but nothing seems to work for me."

"My lady, you're already in **Alsius** one year ahead of everyone else, you don't have to build a weapon until next year, add in all the physical, Aura, and tactical training you already do you'll probably have no free time to relax." Wilhelm said clearly concerned for her well being

"You're forgetting my therapy too." Esdeath added as they reached the bottom of the stairs

"All the more reason to drop one of those subjects." Wilhelm reasoned, again Esdeath ignored him in favor for looking out the window at the falling snow outside

"Please, at least slow down." Wilhelm said as he placed his hand on Esdeath shoulder

"I am not over working myself, for whatever reason this feels very easy to manage." Esdeath finally said as they began to continue towards the dining hall

"Even so, you might not feel it but there's always the possibility that it will eventually catch up with you." Wilhelm warned earning a nod from Esdeath, she had always found it hard to trust, but Wilhelm was one of the few people she did trust

**(o)**

Breakfast passed quickly, Esdeath ate alone as usual, Wilhelm tried to get her to open up, Esdeath would ignore his attempts in favor for admiring the scenery which she clearly didn't care for after eating Esdeath made her way up to her mothers study, Wilhelm stood outside and waited for Esdeath and her mother to finish

Inside the office though, was far warmer than the outside realm of Solitas "Esdeath... aren't you looking... militant." Eisa said coldly looking her daughter up and down

"I try." Esdeath said completely neutral as she placed her hands behind her back standing in attention

"Have your studies been going well?" Eisa asked turning all her attention on her daughter

"Extremely, I am the top of every class with no exception." Esdeath informed, she felt that dealing with her parents required an amount of professionalism that left little room for argument

"Good, what about your therapy?" Eisa asked finally reaching the issue she actually wanted to hear

Esdeath rolled her eyes and spoke in a robotic tone "He says that I have the tendency to display socially irresponsible behavior, that I'm incapable to tell the difference between right and wrong, that I find it difficult to show remorse or empathy, and that I'm manipulative." Esdeath said she then looked her mother dead in the eyes "I've done some research, and listened to his conversations with you and father, he believes that I'm a psychopathy." Esdeath added as she began to pace

"We hired that man for a reason, he's one of the best therapist in Atlas. What do you think lead him to that conclusion? Your dreams?" Eisa asked as she watched her daughter grab a book off the shelf read the title then put it back

"Because he thinks their all in my head, he thinks that I've kill and fought and died because in my mind because I'm crazy, my dreams aren't in order but they are coherent to some extent." Esdeath calmly said as faint black smoke began to rise off of her _**"I'm not crazy."**_ Esdeath growled earning a raised eyebrow from her mother

"My daughter, I know you're not crazy, you just know what it takes to lead." Eisa said tiredly, Esdeath rolled her eyes as she turned to the door to leave

"I don't need a washed up politician to tell me what I'm capable of." Esdeath quietly growled as she exited the room, leaving her mother alone to her work

**(o)**

days passed, Esdeath made no attempt to alter her scheduled, she trained her body, her Aura, then she spent time playing tactical games with her tutor, sometimes Generalleutnant Ironwood would come around and Esdeath could learn from him, it was a good experience even though every time she lost she progressively got better and better, and James seemed to enjoy not having to put up a front for the rich snobs all around the two of them, sadly though today wasn't one of those days, she was eventually visited by her therapist, she didn't learn his name because she felt that to do so would be a waste of time, she thought the same for all of her tutors

"Tell me Esdeath, what is the problem from your point of view. What do you believe causes these nightmares?" he asked in a completely neutral tone as he shifted his cane to a more stable location

"You've asked this before." Esdeath said greeting his tone with her own neutrality "As I told you the first time, I don't know, if I could control these dreams I wouldn't be talking to you."

"I feel that reassessing the problem might give us a better understanding of it." he explained earning an eye roll from Esdeath

"There's nothing to understand. I have see much in my dreams, and it has only been beneficial. Why would I want to stop something like that?" Esdeath asked turning a question onto him

"Because it could be effecting you psyche in a negative way. Your parents are just concerned for you-" he began but Esdeath cut him off

"It could? It _has_. I know so much about the human body, and its weaknesses, I can tell that your injuries are from hunting Grimm, but you bad leg is from hunting down a particularly dangerous serial killer; tell me how did you apprehend Tyrian Callows?" Esdeath questioned earning a shocked look from the man in front of her

"I didn't, I just gave the location after surviving an encounter with him." he answered clearly reliving the experience "But I think he let me get away... he had to..."

"Ah, now I see why you weren't mentioned in the report." Esdeath said with a nod "It does have you listed on the victims listing though, the only survivor I might add." Esdeath added earning a shiver from the man in front of her

"We, are done here." he said as he stood and leaned on his cane "Its clear to me that you don't feel like cooperating today." Esdeath grinned at he made his way to the door

"Good luck, if he ever learns that you're still alive, and sold him out." Esdeath called causing the man to freeze

"He's dead." he said quietly

"No one's dead until the body is shown. Perhaps he's just waiting to go on another spree. Tell me, how do you plan to survive your next in counter with him? Is it playing dead again?" Esdeath asked condescendingly, he didn't respond he just exited the room and slammed the door, Esdeath grinned after the door slammed, he was going to have nightmares for weeks.

**(o)**

That was Esdeath daily routine, until she entered Atlas academy, but she did have other family that aided in her growth

"Faster!" Fria instructed, so Esdeath swung faster "Harder!" Fria instructed, so Esdeath hit harder "Footwork!" Fria warned, so Esdeath corrected her footwork, she was glad to have at least one member of her family that was willing to train her, even if its only instruction for now, after an hour of training against nothing she was allowed a break

"You've done well to day Esdeath." her grandmother said as she sat down next to the tired girl

"Thank you." Esdeath thanked as Fria held out a bottle of warm water to her

"I suppose you'll want to continue soon?" Fria asked as she ran a hand through her graying hair

"It would be nice." Esdeath agreed with a smile earning a slight grin from her grandmother

"I'll be honest with you; I'm not sure why your parents don't spend more time with you. You are a wonderful and kind young girl. I swear I raised your father better than this." her grandmother commented her deep blue eyes hardening, Esdeath raised an eyebrow at her grandmothers angry words

"They have their own jobs to do. I understand that, but they are letting them consume their everyday lives." Esdeath waved off clearly not as bothered by the event as her grandmother

"I also have a job to do, but I'm not going to let it control my life. Nor will I let it stop me from seeing my granddaughter, nor did I let it stop me from raising my sons." her grandmother waved off her tone growing cold, as she spoke the weather around them seemed to follow

"Well, we can just say you had to raise two sons and a daughter." Esdeath offered earning a grin from her grandmother

"We can..." she began playfully but her tone quickly dropped into a serious one "Esdeath, a day will come that my responsibility will become yours, but I know you will be more than ready for that burden." she then stood and pulled Esdeath up with her

"I love you Esdeath, you are the best granddaughter someone like me could ask for, and if your mother and father cant see your value... fuck 'em." her grandmother added with a playful grin on her face, her statement earned a smile from Esdeath

"Lets keep going." Esdeath said as she readied herself to go through drills again

"Alright, your stance is good, your grip is tight, focus on your target, and begin!" Fria called out, and Esdeath attacked this time with almost blinding speed and horrific strength, her grandmother saw the power of the attacks and saw how easily Esdeath managed to make them they were all expert movements and seemed to be riddled with forgotten experience but the muscle memory was still there, and it was slowly being brought out, but if going through drills for a few hours has gotten her this strong so quickly, then how strong will she be when it all comes back to her?

**A/N We get a little bit of Esdeaths' past before volume 4, we might get a bit more, I'm not sure yet but as things are now but I do know that everything is going according the the vague plan* that I have.**

**Plan*- subjective.**


End file.
